Germany to relax rules on consuming cannabis

Germany looks set to take a chilled-out attitude toward the possession and recreational use of cannabis.

The plant, which is widely smoked and eaten because of its psychoactive component tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, can induce euphoria, altered states of mind, a relaxed demeanor and confused sense of time.

Most countries have long outlawed it for its negative impacts, including short-term memory loss, difficulty in concentrating and impairment of movement.

Germany's plan to partially legalize cannabis follows Canada doing so in 2018, and its decriminalization in Uruguay, Malta, the Netherlands and some parts of the United States.

The idea was approved by the German Cabinet this week and will now be debated in Parliament.

The draft law calls for people to be allowed to have up to 25 grams of cannabis for personal use. Individuals will also be allowed to grow up to three cannabis plants. And they will be able to join nonprofit clubs, where the drug will be cultivated and sold.

The changes would make Germany one of Europe's most cannabis-friendly countries and deliver on one of Chancellor Olaf Scholz's election promises.

German Health Minister Karl Lauterbach said the draft law amounts to a "turning point" in the country's attitude toward cannabis.

The government hopes the move will dry up the incomes of black market drug dealers and lead to a decline in lawlessness, Lauterbach said.

The law is not about "creating a problem" but "trying to solve a problem" because people are increasingly trying to buy the drug.

The number of adults in Germany aged between 18 and 25 that consumed cannabis at least once nearly doubled in 2021 from the previous decade to 25 percent, according to the Health Ministry.

"We have rising consumption, problematic consumption ... it simply couldn't have carried on like this," the minister was quoted by Deutsche Welle as saying.

'Competitive' prices

Lauterbach said he expects the drug to be available early next year at "very competitive" prices.

"We think that we can push back the black market well with these rules," he said.

In the longer term, Germany plans to go further and start a five-year trial of the large-scale commercial supply of the drug.

However, the proposed legislation may face fierce opposition in Parliament.

Armin Schuster, the conservative interior minister for the state of Saxony, told media group RND, "This law will be linked to a complete loss of control."