German Health Minister Says Marijuana Legalization Bill Will Be Released After Easter

Health Minister Karl Lauterbach said the country's long-awaited marijuana legalization bill is set to be released "immediately after Easter."

On Wednesday, Lauterbach confirmed that the plan for national legalization remains in place and the new proposal will be presented right after Easter. However, details are still unclear, reported Marijuana Moment.

Nevertheless, lawmakers within the coalition government expressed disapproval of the purported decision to reduce the scope of the plan that seeks to protect the public health and safety of young people.

Kristine Lütke of the Free Democratic Party said, “We need Germany-wide legalization because the black market can only be pushed back if quality-assured cannabis for recreational use can be traded in certified shops throughout Germany (...) If you can only legally buy quality-assured cannabis in a few cities, the black market will survive,” per Zeit Online.

Background

In October, on the heels of the leaked legalization measure, Lauterbach presented a plan to Chancellor Olaf Scholz's cabinet, calling it "the most liberal legalization of cannabis in Europe," which would result in "the most regulated market" in the EU.

German officials intend to tackle the illicit market, which seems to be substantial considering there are roughly 4 million adults who use marijuana nationwide, according to a survey presented by Lauterbach.

That initiative would legalize the possession of a maximum of 20 to 30 grams for people over 18 and increase the number of homegrown plants to three from two. Probably the most striking difference is that there will be no cap on THC concentration in products sold to people over 21.

Lauterbach recently received favorable feedback from the European Commission on his proposal to legalize and establish regulated recreational sales.

The European CBD market is estimated to be worth around $2 billion, with Germany being the largest country, accounting for $1 billion or 50% of the market.

Image by El Planteo