Berlin – Burkhard Blienert should help to implement a new drug policy. The 55-year-old was confirmed by the cabinet as drug commissioner of the federal government on Wednesday at the suggestion of Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD). The personnel could help ensure that cannabis will soon be officially available for purchase.
Blienert is an advocate of the legalization of cannabis, as stipulated by the Ampel coalition in its coalition agreement. It speaks of the controlled supply of cannabis to adults in licensed shops. This would “control the quality, prevent the transfer of contaminated substances and ensure the protection of minors,” it says.
Burkhard Blienert, who is married and has two children, is a classic SPD offspring: After doing civilian service at the Awo district association in Paderborn and completing a master’s degree in politics, modern history and sociology, positions in the party followed. Among other things, he was a consultant in the office of the then chairman Franz Müntefering, a consultant for schools and sports in the parliamentary group in North Rhine-Westphalia and district chairman in Paderborn. From 2013 to 2017 he was a direct candidate in the Bundestag and drug policy spokesman for his parliamentary group. In 2021 he moved back into the Bundestag.
Even in his first time in the Bundestag, he advocated the approval of cannabis. Cannabis alone accounts for billions of euros on the black market every year, with the money seeping into organized crime structures, he explains. It is very important to him to protect consumers from damage to health, legal and social stigmatization.
During his course, he must expect headwinds from doctors who point out the dangers of cannabis, especially for young people. And police officers doubt that legalizing the drug will dry up the black market.
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