Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/1500748
36 tobaccoasia Issue 3, 2023 May / June By Thomas Schmid On April 13, 2023, Germany's public health min- ister Dr. Karl Lauterbach and agriculture minister Cem Özdemir jointly revealed at a federal govern- ment press conference in Berlin that the country would go ahead with decriminalizing – and even- tually legalizing - cannabis. The somewhat hastily called press event caught few by surprise, though. After all, the plan had already been announced in late 2021 as an integral part of the coalition agree- ment of the current left-wing government. Then, in October 2022, health minister Lauterbach him- self confirmed that a legal framework draft would be ready "by the first quarter of 2023". Well, he was only one month late with that. Decriminalization and legalization are two different things However, what transpired during that Berlin con- ference was that Germany is not going to fully le- galize cannabis in one big swoop just yet. Instead, the initial focus will be on decriminalization. "This is important to point out, because 'decriminalization' and 'legalization' are two very different matters that must not be confused with one another," cautioned Georg Wurth, founder and c.e.o. of the German Cannabis Association (DHV). "Decriminalization is aimed at the indi- vidual consumer, who will no longer be prosecuted for possessing or using cannabis, while legalization concerns all aspects of commercialization such as opening cannabis shops, trading, and selling." Although full-scale legalization is not go- ing to happen in Germany anytime soon, Wurth nevertheless calls himself satisfied. "Starting off with decriminalizing the end users is a sensible approach and something for which the DHV has campaigned many years," he said. After all, even under the current outspokenly "pro-cannabis" government, almost 174,000 criminal cases have been filed in 2022 alone against citizens for pos- sessing a few grams of weed or growing a couple of cannabis plants for their own consumption. "There are a million or more active users in Ger- many, so no longer treating them as criminals is the crucial first step into the right direction," Wurth insisted. Germany Takes Lead in EU Cannabis Decriminalization Germany just announced plans also for legalizing cannabis… but will it be the first major EU country to do so? Other European countries also have legalization/decriminalization plans in the works. Cannabis flowers and blunts. Credit: Thomas Schmid "Starting off with decriminalizing the end users is a sensible approach." — George Wurth, DHV