Munich (dpa / lby) - A legal opinion commissioned by Bavaria obviously supports the state government's critical attitude towards the federal cannabis legalization plan. "The results (...) that we will present next Wednesday are clear," said Health Minister Klaus Holetschek (CSU) in Munich.
In mid-December, Holetschek commissioned Bernhard Wegener, Chair of Public Law and European Law at the Friedrich-Alexander University in Erlangen, with clarifying the international and European legal limits of cannabis legalization in Germany. The concrete results of the report are to be published at a press conference at 12.30 p.m.
"For medical reasons, I consider the legalization of cannabis for "pleasure purposes" sought by the traffic light coalition to be very dangerous," emphasized Holetschek, who has been criticizing the legalization plans for months. Among other things, this would play down the health risks, especially for young people. "But the legal framework of the Berlin cornerstones also raises many questions."
In addition, Holetschek had also asked the EU Commission in Brussels to veto the plans of the federal government because it violated European law. This obliges Germany and the other EU countries to criminalize the manufacture, sale and distribution of narcotic substances such as cannabis. The only exception to this is strictly monitored trade that is used for medical or scientific purposes.
Cannabis legalization is one of the major projects of the traffic light coalition. In their coalition agreement, the SPD, the Greens and the FDP had agreed to make it possible for "controlled sales of the drug to adults for recreational purposes in licensed shops". Cannabis is to be cultivated and sold under state regulation in Germany. Growing a few plants yourself should also be allowed.
The traffic light justifies the project with the fact that the prohibition policy did not prevent use, instead there was even an increase in consumption. Furthermore, a legal and state-controlled sale could improve youth and health protection, since less contaminated cannabis is in circulation. Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD) presented the first concrete ideas for implementation in the autumn. A draft law should be available by the end of March.
