Germany aims to complete draft law and technical opinion on legalization by end of March

The German government's bill for the legalization of cannabis should be completed by the end of March, following the document presented at the end of October 2022, reported the Hanf Magazine. However, the European Commission has not yet been involved in the discussion of the document, which is why a complete bill must now be produced. Karl Lauterbach, Federal Minister of Health, wants the bill to be ready by the end of March. In addition, an expert opinion on legalization should also be prepared in the same period.

The Federal Ministry of Health (BMG) has requested the preparation of an expert report at the end of the year, which will take a closer look at the intended legalization and its possible effects. The task was entrusted to the Institute for Interdisciplinary Research on Drug Addiction and Drugs (ISD Hamburg).

The team of researchers who will carry out the study is the same group of scientists led by Jakob Manthey, who had already written the “(preliminary) recommendation for action on the legalization of cannabis in Germany – results of a systematic review” which accompanies the document on the proposals that the German government intends to implement.

The analysis results should be ready for submission by March 31st. Eight research questions on legalization are expected to be addressed in the experts' report, highlighting several aspects. With the results, Federal Health Minister Lauterbach intends to support the positive aspects of cannabis regulation with scientific facts.

Lauterbach intends to bring a bill to the Bundestag only after a positive outcome of the communication process with the EU. An alternative plan, following an EU veto, such as decriminalization, has yet to be proposed by German lawmakers.

The report aims to provide information on whether legalisation, based on the plans that the German government has in mind, is adequate to achieve the intended objectives, including an improvement in the protection of young people and consumers, but also the crackdown on the illicit market.

In addition to a summary of the current state of known facts, exchanges of information with experts from Canada, the US, Uruguay and Switzerland will also help to compile the necessary information for a meaningful expert opinion.

Given the current state of known information, the research team believes that consumption would not increase rapidly due to legal availability, issues that are often voiced by opponents of legalization, although there is no supporting evidence in the form of representative studies.