German Health Minister Confident Cannabis Legalization Will Be In Effect By April Despite Opposition

German Health Minister Karl Lauterbach says he is optimistic that marijuana legalization will be approved by the Bundestag in February and become law in April. His comments come shortly after the legalization measure was attacked by various members of the governing coalition. 

What happened: “I am continuing to assume that the Cannabis Act will be passed by the Bundestag in the week between February 19 and 23 and will go into force from April 1,” Lauterbach told the Sunday edition of Die Welt, adding that the legislation is moving along. 

However, not everyone is on board. Social Democrat Party (SPD) spokesperson on law enforcement said this last week. "Naturally, talks are being held on the cannabis law. I still hope they will lead to the realization that this law must not be passed under any circumstances,” said Sebastian Fiedler.

Feidler added that he's not the only politician against the plan to legalize recreational marijuana. “I know a large number of colleagues in my parliamentary group who share this view.” 

German interior ministers recently published a report with concerns connected to the technical implementations of the law. The ministers argued that the measure poorly considers the projected impacts of cannabis legalization on law enforcement, regulatory authorities and public safety. The major concern they point out is a potential burden on law enforcement in the form of unclear regulations, including higher costs and additional police tasks. 

Lauterbach responded to those and other concerns. “We do not want cannabis smoked in front of schools or daycare centers, and for this we have defined a distance of 100 meters as a prohibition zone. I see that as a reasonable decision,” he told the outlet.

He added that unauthorized and untested products jeopardize consumers and that there's a need to crack down on the illegal market. “Controlled distribution of cannabis is the right way to do this, combined with special protection for children and adolescents.”

Millions Of Patients 

Why it matters: The law change would benefit both adult-use consumers and medical marijuana patients. If the Cannabis Act becomes law on April 1, cannabis will no longer be considered a narcotic in Germany. The number of medical marijuana patients would increase because it can be prescribed as regular medication.

Niklas Kouparanis, co-founder and CEO of a Frankfurt-based medical cannabis holding company the Bloomwell Group, recently talked with Benzinga about the huge potential for medical marijuana in the country. "Our country of 83 million, which currently has between 200,000-300,000 medical patients, will see its number of medical cannabis patients multiply between seven and ten times, into the millions."

 He added that legalization would not only decrease the costs of medical marijuana but would allow patients to use only prescriptions.

What's Next: It is now up to the Bundestag to decide. 

See Also: Medical Marijuana Improves Chronic Depression Symptoms, New Clinical Study By German Psychiatric Hospital Shows

Photo: Benzinga edit with images by Martin Kraft via Wikimedia Commons and Matthew Sichkaruk via Unsplash