The hearings on the legalization of adult-use cannabis are now a thing of the past. Announced in early June, they have now taken place, and some clarity about the direction and timing of the German adult-use market is now emerging.
The first, most important takeaway is that Health Minister Karl Lauterbach and the Federal Drug Commissioner Burkhard Blienert (who will also keynote the ICBC conference in Berlin in just a few weeks) have committed to making adult-use cannabis a reality.
The importance of this commitment cannot be understated. Unlike US politics, the German federal government is more consensus-oriented. If two major leaders announce an initiative, chances are it will happen (although, of course, it does not always – see previous Health Minister Jens Spahn’s many pronouncements about the digitalization of healthcare). That said, Lauterbach also mentioned again that he had undergone a change in perspective about legalization, unlike his counterparts in the Green and FDP parties – both of whom have been pro-legalization for quite some time now.
“The risks of the current situation are greater than the legal levy,” he said. “The coordinates have shifted in favor of legalization.” Blienart went a bit further than his boss. According to him, what is about to occur is a “paradigm shift” on the topic of cannabis.
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