The Bundestag decides to partially liberalize cannabis. Relief or more burden for the judiciary?
A limited legalization of cannabis has found a majority in the Bundestag. The proposal by Health Minister Lauterbach was voted for by 407 members, while 226 were against. The new regulation, which is due to come into force in April, will allow adults to possess up to 50 grams of cannabis for personal use.
It is also permitted to cultivate up to three cannabis plants in your own home. From July, associations for the non-commercial cultivation of cannabis will also be legal. The approval of the Bundesrat is not required for this law. During the debate, Lauterbach emphasized that the law would help to curb the black market and improve the protection of children and young people. He emphasized the extensive discussion within the coalition parties and noted that the decision had been made taking all concerns into account. Many associations and experts welcome this decision, but there are also considerable dissenting voices. CSU member of parliament Pilsinger announced that the CDU/CSU would reintroduce the ban on cannabis if they were in government in the next legislative period. The President of the German Medical Association, Reinhardt, pointed out that cannabis use was particularly harmful for people under the age of 25. He also noted that the black market continued to play a role in other countries even after the legalization of cannabis. The President of the Professional Association of Paediatricians and Adolescent Doctors, Hubmann, expressed concern in the "Ärzte Zeitung" that legalization for adults would lead to cannabis being increasingly passed on to children and adolescents. He pointed out that the handling of alcohol and nicotine was already problematic in the area of child and youth protection.
The German Association of Judges and the amnesty debate
The German Association of Judges expressed concerns about the burden placed on the judiciary by the planned amnesty for previously unenforced cannabis offenses. They called for a revision of the planned regulation. Although the Association of German Criminal Investigators is generally in favour of the decriminalization of cannabis, it warns of the consequences of the current draft bill. Chairman Peglow of the BDK criticized the fact that the law promotes small-scale trafficking and is difficult to implement in practice.
The draft is not suitable for achieving the goals proclaimed by Lauterbach, explained Sven Rebehn, Federal Managing Director of the German Association of Judges. "In particular, the law plans will not relieve the judiciary, but rather place an additional burden on it. The very detailed law would lead to a high level of administrative control, numerous new disputes and many proceedings before the courts."
The Federal Ministry of Health, on the other hand, expects the planned legalization of cannabis to reduce costs for law enforcement agencies, courts and prisons by more than one billion euros per year.
The interior ministers of the federal states also expressed doubts about the new law's control options at the weekend.
It remains to be seen whether the Cannabis Act will have the desired effects on justice and society.
