Cannabis in Germany

This article may be expanded with text translated from the corresponding article in German. (January 2017) Click [show] for important translation instructions. View a machine-translated version of the German article. Machine translation like DeepL or Google Translate is a useful starting point for translations, but translators must revise errors as necessary and confirm that the translation is accurate, rather than simply copy-pasting machine-translated text into the English Wikipedia. Consider adding a topic to this template: there are already 7,015 articles in the main category, and specifying|topic= will aid in categorization. Do not translate text that appears unreliable or low-quality. If possible, verify the text with references provided in the foreign-language article. You must provide copyright attribution in the edit summary accompanying your translation by providing an interlanguage link to the source of your translation. A model attribution edit summary is Content in this edit is translated from the existing German Wikipedia article at [[:de:Rechtliche_Aspekte_von_Hanf#Deutschland]]; see its history for attribution. You should also add the template {{Translated|de|Rechtliche_Aspekte_von_Hanf#Deutschland}} to the talk page. For more guidance, see Wikipedia:Translation.

Hanflabyrinth Berlin 2009

Cannabis in Germany is legal for certain limited medical contexts, but illegal for recreational usage, though possession of minor amounts is not always prosecuted.

Medical cannabis[]

Dronabinol was rescheduled in 1994 from annex I to annex II of the Narcotics Law (Betäubungsmittelgesetz) in order to ease research; in 1998 dronabinol was rescheduled from annex II to annex III and since then has been available by prescription.^[1] whereas Δ⁹-THC is still listed in annex I.^[2] Manufacturing instructions for dronabinol containing compendial formulations are described in the Neues Rezeptur-Formularium.^[3]

Although Δ⁹-THC is still listed in annex I,^[4] in a few cases, patients have been able to obtain from the federal drug authority a special permit to import natural cannabis through a pharmacy. Manufacturing instructions for dronabinol containing compendial formulations are described in the Neues Rezeptur-Formularium.^[3]

In February 2008, seven German patients were legally being treated with medicinal cannabis, distributed by prescription in pharmacies.^[5]

On 4 May 2016, the Cabinet of Germany approved legislation allowing the use of cannabis for seriously ill patients who have consulted with a doctor and "have no therapeutic alternative". German Health Minister Hermann Gröhe presented the legal draft on the legalization of medical cannabis to the cabinet which took effect on 10 March 2017. Licenses will be given by "Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices" to companies for growing medical cannabis.^{[6][7][8][9][10]} As of March 2017, the seriously ill can obtain cannabis with a doctor's prescription, paid for by health insurance.^[11]

Enforcement[]

Cannabis legalization booth in Munich, 2014

The German narcotics law (Betäubungsmittelgesetz) states that authorities are not required to prosecute for the possession of a "minor amount" of any narcotic drug meant for personal consumption, except in cases "of public interest", i.e. consumption in public, in front of minors or within a public school or a state prison.^[12] The definition of "minor amount" varies, from up to 6 grams (0.21 oz) of cannabis in most states to 15 grams (0.53 oz) in Berlin.^[13]

Under German law, the consumption itself of narcotics is not illegal: legally speaking, it is considered as non-punishable self-harm. Legal commentaries recognise that it is possible to consume drugs without having bought them first, in a legal sense. This has the practical effect that a positive drug test does not necessarily mean that one has illegally purchased them.^[14]

Despite the fact that there is no punishment de jure, consumers can be assessed psychological (MPU) for their driving suitability. Loss of drivers licence is not uncommon, followed by a regime of drug screenings to prove the suitability. Unlike for ethanol, whether one operated a motor vehicle under the influence (or indeed with trace amounts of THC in the bloodstream) is often immaterial.

Hemp Parade[]

Stencil graffiti in Aachen

The Hanfparade (English: Hemp Parade) is a hemp legalization demonstration in Berlin. It has taken place each year in August since 1997.

Global Marijuana March[]

The Global Marijuana March has taken place in Germany since 2011 and gets coordinated by the Deutscher Hanfverband (German Hemp Association).^[15]

Hemp museum[]

The Hanfmuseum was established in Berlin in 1994.

Hemp food[]

Non-psychoactive foods made with hemp seeds (less than 0.2% THC) are very common in German health food shops such as Reformhaus. Since the late 2010s, Hemp foods and drinks have become widely available even in normal supermarkets in some cities including Berlin, and health food shops and drug stores like dm and Rossmann have begun selling various CBD products, sometimes including THC-free cannabis.

Politics[]

The Greens, The Left, and the Free Democratic Party want the government to legalise the regulation of cannabis for private consumption. They say that this will help protect adult consumers from buying cannabis laced with other harmful chemicals. They also say that buying cannabis on the black market stigmatises ordinary citizens, preventing them from seeking help if they need it and increasing the chance that they will buy harder drugs. Cannabis shops would eliminate this risk and prevent minors from buying the drug with the implementation of legal minimum age checks for purchase.^[16]

2021 German federal election[]

In the coalition talks between the SPD, the Greens and the FDP that followed the federal election in 2021, the proposal arose within the framework of a government that was to be formed to release cannabis for legal distribution to adults and to sell it in licensed specialist shops in the future.^{[17][18][19][20][21][22]}

References[]