Germany’s Move To Legalize Marijuana

So far in Europe, only one country has legalized recreational cannabis use. That is the country of Malta, which is a tiny island with a population of just about one half million people. The island lies just off the coast of Sicily, Italy, which doesn’t make it easily accessible by people living on the main continent of Europe who want to access cannabis. Some people think of Amsterdam as allowing cannabis, but technically it is not legal, only decriminalized. They alllow small amounts of cannabis to be sold and consumed in their coffeeshops, but the market is not regulated. And the city of Amsterdam is the only place in The Netherlands that allows this access for tourists. But the face of European cannabis access is about to change. Germany, which has the largest economy in all of Europe, has been making plans to legalize recreational cannabis. This week, key details of their plans to legalize and regulate were published. Adults in Germany will be able to purchase cannabis flower, capsules, sprays, and drops. However, interestingly, edibles will be prohibited. German residents will be allowed to grow up to three plants at home, so they could potentially make their own edibles. The German recreational cannabis legalization would apply to adults 21 and older, but there is also some discussion of potentially allowing some limited access for those 18 - 21. Health Minister Karl Lauterbach said their current target direction on production is for, “…planning complete cultivation in Germany.” Keeping all the cannabis cultivation within Germany would be a dissapointment to some international producers, who had been hoping they would allow imports. As for when this all could happen, most officials in the know say that due to the regulation plans needed, rollout would likely happen near to the end of 2024. Right now, Germany needs get approval for their plans from the European Union to ensure it is compatible with European Union and global drug laws. Then they will potentially work on tweaking the draft before it’s finalized and submitted for approval by German lawmakers and made officially into law. Legalizing cannabis for recreational use could potentially generate 4.7 billion euros annually for the German economy. Mike Sassano, CEO of Somai Pharmaceuticals, a manufacturer of cannabinoid formulations for the European markets, believes that all the other countries in European Union will follow with similar legalization measures after Germany. He said that since Germany is Europe’s largest economy, and generally sets the trends and agendas for the rest of the continent, he believes that after Germany’s imminent legalization, there “…will be a cannabis wildfire in Europe.”