Here is the latest news on cannabis legalization: Germany, Europe’s largest economy (and the world’s fourth largest), is moving forward with full cannabis legalization. It joins other countries in Europe that have adopted similar measures.
Here is the catch: Although public opinion is gradually shifting, full implementation of weed legalization will not be a quick or straightforward process in any country–Germany included. Here, this unsurprising temporary backlash from conservative politicians was seen, mostly coming from the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and all residents of Bavaria–which is referred to here as the Texas of Germany.
Although there are many potential problems, the message from Berlin is that it’s still possible to pass a law reforming recreational cannabis use. And it will happen soon.
The Largest Issues
European countries face the biggest problem of wanting to move forward on a sovereign level, while also being bound by updated EU regulations. The EU as a whole is committed to complying with international law–this includes the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs and 1971 Convention on Psychotropic Substances, which set out mandates about cannabis use.
The reason this has not been as much of an issue before is that EU countries, starting with Germany, began to allow medical use by integrating cannabis into the pharmaceutical sector. Beyond this, in 2020, the EU changed the classification of CBD to a non-narcotic compound; however, this regulatory change has not yet been fully implemented throughout every country in the EU. In fact, most countries still treat CBD as if it were a narcotic drug according to domestic law because regulators have yet to update these laws accordingly. The German CBD market is growing, but it’s difficult to import hemp from other European countries unless you have a pharmaceutical license. CBD businesses are also at risk of criminal prosecution in the country. In addition, there is still uncertainty about how Novel Food regulation will affect the industry.
Cannabis reform for recreational purposes will cause a reclassification of the plant at both a national and international level. This will also force countries who have been slow to act on CBD (such as Germany) to update their laws accordingly. This development would be in line with the wishes of the United Nations. The UN has kept putting off decisions on cannabis. The last time the UN’s Commission on Narcotic Drugs met to discuss it, they removed cannabis from Schedule IV of the 1961 Convention and told individual countries and regions they could do whatever they wanted about further reform.
Developments in Germany
By the end of 2022 or early next year, the German government plans to pass new legislation. In June, hearings were held to discuss this topic further. Furthermore, Germany has teamed up with Luxemburg and Malta in order tackle recreational drug reform at an international level and figure out how it can fit within current EU law–which bans plant-based drugs–and existing treaties that regulate them.
The general public is well ahead of the politicians on this issue, but interestingly, not by much. According to a recent poll by Ipsos, 61% of the population supports recreational reform—a sharp reversal from just five years ago when 63% of Germans surveyed by Forsa were still against full legalization.
Since the introduction of federal medical reform, Germany has seen a vast change in how cannabis is prescribed and used. In 2017, the country legalized medical marijuana and required that public health insurers cover reimbursement for prescriptions. While this has given way to tens of thousands of patients who receive medical cannabis, gaining approval is still very difficult and time-consuming. So much so that in September, the German Society of Pain Doctors entered into a trial agreement with one AOK—one of the nation’s largest insurers—to begin a streamlined approvals process in just one state.
Despite the conservative party’s best efforts, it is clear that they will not be able to halt the positive momentum surrounding recreational cannabis reform. The issue of recreational reform has remained a political football to some extent, with the ousted Christian Democratic Union of Germany/Christian Social Union in Bavaria (CDU/CSU) falsely campaigning against the current government on this issue. Recently, the party commissioned Bundestag (German Parliament) lawyers to “examine” current EU law as it pertains to cannabis use, which unsurprisingly concluded that further reform is needed.
Social Democratic Party (SDP) of Germany quickly took action by creating their own counter-offensive on Instagram to answer questions that were brought up in the meantime. The general consensus of the present government is that German recreational reform won’t violate international law, either of EU or global kind. They have also vaguely hinted at what reform might look like, saying dispensaries will be allowed as well as limited home grow. Online sales of cannabis will remain prohibited, while both flowers and edibles will likely be allowed. Recreational users can expect to source their cannabis domestically and from international markets (though initially only certified GMP producers).
It’s anticipated that the legislation will pass next summer, meaning that recreational use will be legalized sometime between 2024 and 2025. Although there are still some legal hurdles to overcome, this fall should bring significant progress.
Luxembourg and Malta
The two other member states of the EU who have barely reformed their policies on marijuana waiting for Germany to take action. Now that Germany has legalize home grow, both countries are following suit with this intermediary step.
Medical cultivation is permitted in Malta, and the current government in Luxembourg has promised to reform the law around recreational use of cannabis within five years. However, progress has repeatedly stalled due to concerns about how to implement the changes in a way that is compatible with EU rules.
Other EU Countries
Several countries other than the Netherlands may follow in its footsteps regarding cannabis regulation. Even though the Dutch experiment has received some criticism, the country has now taken action to federally regulate cannabis cultivation for coffee shops. Because large city shops are still exempt from the program and all legalization discussion in Europe is called an “experiment,” this situation is still largely described as such. However, it has become clear to everyone that cannabis will never go back to being illegal again.
Last month, the Czech Republic announced that it plans to legalized recreational use [of drugs]. Not only this, but the country has invited other EU countries to collaborate with it on an international level—meaning there’s a good chance it will be the next country to join the multinational coalition formed by three leading countries.
In the future, it’s highly likely that both Portugal and Italy will join this multilateral coalition. Lisbon is renowned for its open-minded drug policy in general, and has been legislators to pass laws enabling cannabis cultivation and extraction for a number of years. In the meantime, many cannabis companies have set up shop in Portugal–Tilray being one of the first.
Although Italy’s medical cultivation program is still in development, the country has been discussing the idea of home grow for at least two years and may soon follow suit.
Switzerland
Recreational drug usage will be legal in Switzerland as of September 2022, and this is due to the fact that Switzerland is not a part of the EU. This trial program is being governed by different cantons (Swiss states), with reform appearing to come fastest in German-speaking parts of Switzerland. This may also impact discussions on recreational drugsusage in Germany and Austria, who are members of the DACH trading alliance alongside Swiss.
The most interesting part of the Swiss experiment is that regulators have allowed high–THC cannabis to be exempt from EU-GMP (pharma-grade) certification, as well as Novel Food—a regulation that has been hindering the growth of CBD industry throughout Europe for years.
Summary
If we compare it to something, Europe is at the point of change that America was in 2012. The difference is that it’s occurring on a federal and international level. It’s unclear how quickly each individual country will make progress, but overall reform seems likely. And as this occurs, different parts of the world are beginning to see rise up one of the most promising regional cannabis markets yet.