Tobacco Asia

Tobacco Asia 37 A two-phased plan According to health minister Lauterbach, Ger- many's cannabis initiative will be implemented in two phases. Phase 1 concerns the decriminalization of end consumers per se, as well as the establish- ment of "cannabis social clubs". Wurth explained that as part of that phase "consumers can have up to 25 grams of marijuana in their possession with- out needing to fear arrest." That is a lot of grass! Secondly, the growing of "up to three flowering plants" at home likewise will be permitted, whereas it is understood that the "harvest" is for private con- sumption only and must not be commercially traded in any way. Then there are the already mentioned "cannabis social clubs", which must operate as not- for-profit organizations. Intended as gathering spots for members to indulge in their favorite pastime, the clubs will be allowed to dispense cannabis obtained from their member network. But, they are explicitly barred from purchasing stocks "from third parties". "That [third-party purchasing] could be construed as violating EU law and the government wants to avoid incurring penalties imposed by the European Commission," explained Wurth. Last but not least, the clubs apparently are going to have the additional option to grow their own cannabis on site, too, the plants tended by vol- unteers appointed and supervised by the respective club committee. But, Wurth noted that clubs will not be permitted to grow more than their members actually consume. In other words, surplus produc- tion is a no-no. How these clubs are to be controlled and how the amount of cannabis they are permitted to grow will be determined remains rather murky at this point. "It was not clearly expressed [during the conference], so we will have to wait until details are published in writing," Wurth said. Pilot regions for testing out the waters Things get even murkier with phase 2, which calls for the establishment of selected "pilot regions" across Germany where actual cannabis shops will be allowed to operate. "Retail shops will only be allowed to open within these pilot regions and alongside the social clubs, whereas outside of these zones only social clubs will be permitted, but no shops," clarified Wurth. He added that designated pilot regions could potentially be located hundreds of kilome- ters apart from each other. "For example, there could be one zone in Berlin, another in Hamburg, yet another in Munich," he explained. But then again, these "pilot regions" con- ceivably serve two distinct purposes. Firstly, they are to test whether their proper supervision can be ensured by the authorities and whether the general public – a large proportion of which reportedly is against a "free-for-all cannabis bonanza" - is going to accept the existence of overtly operating canna- bis shops in their neighborhoods at all. Secondly, the zones probably also are de- signed to see how the EU Commission will react to Germany's move. "Unlike non-EU countries such as Canada or Uruguay, Germany is still bound by rather strict EU regulations regarding narcot- ics and cannot simply unilaterally decide to embark on a full-scale legalization," Wurth said. He added, "Whichever German laws are hammered out, they must not conflict with EU law." But while Wurth was confident that initial decriminalization will almost certainly lead up to eventual legalization, he also expressed some dis- appointment at the proposed time frame. The regional pilot projects are supposed to run for a minimum of five years before an evaluation will de- termine if further expansion is even on the books. Furthermore, such an expansion will be hinged on the passing of appropriate laws by Germany's 16 federal states as well as the national assembly. "Considering how slow progress has been so far, legalization will not occur until well into the next decade even if everything goes off without a hitch," Wurth worried. Flowering hemp plants in a greenhouse. Credit: Thomas Schmid "Considering how slow progress has been so far, legalization [in Germany] will not occur until well into the next decade even if everything goes off without a hitch. — Georg Wurth, DHV

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