It was a long road to achieve even partial decriminalization of this stigmatized plant. Yet since the change in government, there have been attempts—as expected—to gradually restrict the freedoms that were fought for. With constant demands for further tightening, Germany is currently moving backwards. Contrary to initial evaluation results that showed no need for action, conservative circles continue to push for stricter measures.
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Zero Tolerance for Mixed Cannabis and Alcohol Use
On November 21st, the Bundesrat passed a resolution requiring fitness-to-drive evaluations for first-time mixed consumption of cannabis and alcohol, sending drivers for mandatory medical-psychological examinations (MPU). The Bundesrat now urges the Bundestag to incorporate this decision into Section 4 of the Driving License Regulation and anchor it in law. The absurdity: mixed consumption is considered to exist if traces of both substances can be detected.
The Bundesrat emphasized that mixed consumption of cannabis and alcohol, regardless of the amount detected, generally indicates a lack of judgment. However, this approach lacks practical viability: if someone smoked a joint a week ago and drank a beer today, the new law would suffice to order an MPU. Through this legal backdoor, cannabis consumers could be unjustly sanctioned once again.
In practice, this would mean that even sporadic cannabis users could never drink alcohol. Under the new law, the mere detection of both substances—regardless of individual threshold values—would be enough to mandate an MPU.
Ban on Growing Clubs Demanded
Union-led federal states have called for banning cannabis growing clubs in the future. A corresponding proposal is currently under consideration at the Interior Ministers‘ Conference taking place these days. This demand is based on EKOCAN data recently published as part of the first evaluation. According to the data, growing clubs have so far been able to cover only 0.1% of demand. The Union describes this as a grave misdevelopment.
What is not mentioned in this demand, however, is why growing clubs have contributed only marginally to meeting demand so far: since the beginning of partial legalization, growing clubs have been harassed with massive legal obstacles. Particularly in conservative states like Bavaria, they are persistently sabotaged, causing many to give up.
As a result, blame is directed at the partial legalization itself, which—due to this inadequate implementation—has failed to sufficiently reduce the black market. Whether a ban on growing clubs can be passed remains questionable, but even proposing one demonstrates what the enemy image of cannabis remains in union-led politics.
Possession Limits Should Be Reduced
Just weeks ago, Streeck again advocated in an interview for reducing possession limits. He pointed out that 50 grams could be rolled into 100 joints, making it far too large a quantity for personal use. A double standard when one considers that such restrictions don’t exist for other legal substances.
If someone had 50 bottles of spirits at home—which is also not a typical consumption amount—nobody would mind. The „dealer threshold“ of 25 grams in public, which makes it harder for police to identify dealers, also faced criticism. Streeck also supported a ban on online prescriptions, citing the dramatic increase in the past year.
It should come as little surprise that other union voices are even calling for complete repeal of the cannabis law. Recently, Federal Interior Minister Dobrindt (CSU) spoke out in favor of completely abolishing the legislation.
Insufficient Legal Consequences for Young People
Criticism also came from Justice Minister Marion Gentges (CDU). Since partial legalization, significantly fewer young people have faced cannabis charges. She spoke of „smoking without consequences“ and criticized that the state lacks the legal basis to sufficiently sanction young consumers under the previous government’s law.
But what did prosecuting young people accomplish in the past? Problems obtaining driver’s licenses and resulting potentially blocked career prospects—a downward spiral with far more drastic consequences than a joint could ever have caused.
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