Party over for the green start into the new year. Cannabis legalization ticks to its own time and that seems to be the only reliable constant at the moment. Before March 2024, the most talked-about little green miracle will have no prospect of changing its status, i.e. it will continue to be illegal under the Narcotics Act.
Promises are a thing of the past; once the word is given, it is better to keep it. However, the governing coalition is not living up to this moral in the planned partial legalization. At least that is the case with the partial legalization of marijuana from January 2024. The delay is due to the postponement of the reading in the Bundestag to the end of December, which was originally planned for November 16.
Since the coalition has taken on decriminalization under the leadership of the Ministry of Health, no opportunity has been missed to question an adjustment that is somehow long overdue. By opponents and supporters. Although the parliamentary groups should actually be in the driving seat, insiders report that the team of Health Minister Karl Lauterbach is juggling with requests for changes, but may not be able to keep up with the pace required to stay on schedule. In addition, many points will probably not be accepted.
The FDP and the Greens are particularly committed to generous changes in favor of consumers. After all, there are current regulations such as the ban on sharing home-grown grass. This could be worse, but it also means that the joint made from it may not be shared in one’s own household. Friends don`t share.
A law that is not short of absurdities. And so the classification of industrial hemp is also criticized, which we at Tom Hemp’s welcome. Because precisely those plants that are allowed to have a maximum THC content of 0.3% are then subject to an intoxication clause. The regulations in question are like unwanted guests at a party and also pose challenges for the agricultural industry that are far from acceptable. The situation is similar with cannabis clubs. The law in its current form is simply a major construction site.
And even if the legalization of cannabis in Germany is waiting for its time in the limelight, a delay in the sense of a qualitative and bureaucratically manageable law makes more sense than many of the provisions currently enshrined. In this case, amendments are like the grass after the rain – they grow slowly, but when they arrive, they deliver what they promise. In the best-case scenario, a green nightmare becomes a dream.
So the hope remains that spring can be ushered in with a joint. But: We just know that we do not know! Because in the worst-case scenario… No, let’s not conjure up evil spirits and believe in Germany, the land of precision, poets and thinkers. And better also in a government that will continue to ensure that one of the oldest natural medicinal plants in the world is finally treated as such within the framework of a law.
