Germany’s Coalition Government Commits to Legalizing Cannabis

Germany’s incoming coalition government of the Social Democrats (SPD), Green party, and Free Democrats (FDP) signaled this week they intend to pass adult-use cannabis legislation, Deutsche Welle reports.

Party representatives said on Thursday they will be working to legislate the “controlled distribution of cannabis to adults for recreational purposes in licensed shops.” According to lawmakers, the legalization plan — which has been in discussion for weeks — would include a major evaluation process after four years to determine the program’s effectiveness.

According to Niklas Kouparanis, CEO of The Bloomwell Group and a leading voice in the push for cannabis legalization the country, Germany‘s legal cannabis market is set to be a “highly regulated environment” operating between international laws, import/export license requirements, and other internal European Union restrictions.

“Politicians are faced with the task of minimizing the risk of abuse, maximizing control and education, and at the same time setting framework conditions for high-quality care. It would be negligent if the new federal government does not bring together the experts who have already gained experience in the medical cannabis market for the specific design of a legal cannabis market: entrepreneurs, representatives of authorities, pharmacists — together with the drug commissioners of the parties. ” — Kouparanis, in a statement

Both the Green party and FDP, which is business-centered, have called for legalization for years but with tight regulations and considerations for the safety of children. Germany’s police union says it is opposed to any legalization reforms.

Earlier this week, a survey commissioned by the German hemp association found that cannabis legalization would generate about 4.7 billion euros for the European country — that’s 3.4 billion in new tax revenues and about 1.3 billion in cost savings.

Germany is set to become only the third EU country to allow legal recreational cannabis use, following in the footsteps of the Netherlands and, more recently, Luxembourg.