Sofía Weissenborn
German Federal Parliament legalised controlled and limited amount of cannabis after discussing the issue for centuries.
From the 1st of April, the new legislation of cultivating and possessing cannabis will start.
407 deputies voted in favor, 226 against the new legislation, 4 were abstentions. The law must be brought to the federal council by the 22nd of march. Over 18-year-olds can therefore possess up to 25 grams of cannabis for personal consumption and have 3 own cannabis plants. Smoking weed in public spaces such as schools is forbidden. Smokers must be at least 100 meters away from the building's entrances. The so-called “cultivation associations” which can have up to 500 members can grow and possess 50 gram per member per month.
In the debate before the vote, Federal health minister and SPD politician Karl Lauterbach believed the situation was “not acceptable” because it meant an increased number of users who were not aware of the toxic concentrations in cannabis due to illegal drug trafficking, something he believes is a big problem. To protect young people they must, therefore, work against the black market.
Green-Party health politician Kirsten Kappert-Gonther argues that they “must stop the damaging prohibition policy” and “make the health and young protection stronger”.
A bigger emphasis on education is also needed since most of them are not aware of the fact that cannabis is “brain poison” in the long run.
Union and AfD are against the law. CDU health politician Simone Borchardt believes the protection of children and young people is expressed only in political words but not in real actions.
Doctors, the police, psychotherapists, and all the state interior ministers had warned against the new law since the cultivation at home cannot be controlled.
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