Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/1500748
38 tobaccoasia Issue 3, 2023 May / June Will time run out? And there is a huge elephant in the room, too. It is uncertain if the current government, already under intense criticism for its disastrous energy, economic, social security, and immigration policies, will survive that long. Should the present administration fall and hand the country's reins to a conservative coalition, there is the real possibility that the ambitious cannabis plan might be scrapped altogether without ever really getting off the ground. Some observers already predict that the government's days are numbered and that it won't see the end of the year. "If that happens, all could be back to square one, I fear," lamented Wurth. Germany is of course not the only EU member state where things are happening in favor of cannabis. There also are the Czech Republic, Spain, and even the tiny island nation of Malta. Let's take a quick look at developments in those countries, as well as set the record straight regarding a couple of other European nations about whom some misconceptions stubbornly persist. Czech Republic: EU laws slow down country's full legalization proposal For a while it looked as if the Czech Republic may well pull past Germany in the canna- bis race. But then things got delayed. A legalization draft was supposed to be presented to the public in March 2023 – and wasn't. DHV's Georg Wurth surmised that the Czechs might have hit the same obstacle that Germany encountered: the EU's strict drug policy, which is not compatible with a blanket legalization of cannabis. Yet the country apparently remains determined to probe every nook and cranny, every crack in EU law. "I hope [the Czechs] will stick to their plan, submit a comprehensive legaliza- tion draft to the EU Commission and then fight it out in Brussels and Strasbourg," said Wurth. If that works, Czech Republic may overtake Germany still. Luxembourg: three years and waiting for full legalization proposal Then again, we also do have the case of Luxembourg. In 2018, the Grand Duchy's new government included cannabis legalization in its coalition agreement. But just like Ger- many and Czech Republic, the country then apparently hit a snag with the EU Com- mission. More than three years into the government term nothing has moved. Instead, politicians have told the public that full legalization was not possible "because the EU said so"… or something along these lines. Wurth complained that (just like in the case of the Czech Republic) "no official statement from the commission was forthcoming as to the concrete reasons for the rejection." Malta: first in EU for regulatory decriminalization Yet with concerted tenacity, there seems to be a way to outsmart the EU Commission after all. A great example for this is the Mediterranean island nation of Malta, a full- fledged EU member. "Malta is the new benchmark in Europe," said Wurth. "They put their back into it, formulated a regulatory framework and decriminalized cannabis in 2018, the first EU country to do so." Members of the public can carry up to 7 grams of cannabis and even may grow up to 4 plants at home. Georg Wurth. Credit: DHV "[Malta] formulated a regulatory framework and decriminalized cannabis in 2018, the first EU country to do so." — George Wurth, DHV The truth is that cannabis is not legal in the Netherlands, and never has been!