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It was a shaky game until the end, but now it has been decided: partial legalization of cannabis is coming, and the Federal Council also agreed on Friday. From April 1st, adults will be allowed to grow up to three cannabis plants and have up to 25 grams of the drug with them for their own consumption.
And: From July 1st you can legally buy marijuana or hashish - in registered clubs, the so-called "cultivation associations" or "cannabis social clubs". Kevin Stasik is the founder of such a club in Brandenburg an der Havel. For medical reasons, he is already allowed to consume legally - and sees the advantages of the new regulation.
Kevin Stasik, Cannabis Social Club founder: »We will definitely push back the black market. Not overnight, we can't do that. But if you look over a medium-term period, say four or five years, I am definitely convinced that we social clubs can provide help. To ensure the protection of minors and to serve people with clean, unstretched products.«
Stasik plans to have a cultivation area of up to 1000 square meters for his cannabis plants. He is critical of the fact that the harvest is not allowed to be consumed directly in the clubs.
Kevin Stasik, Cannabis Social Club founder: »It would actually have made more sense if we had been allowed to allow people to smoke in our social club, because firstly we have the community there. On the second page we should make sure to see who has problematic consumption. But I can't see the problematic consumption if he smokes at home."
SPD Health Minister Karl Lauterbach fought for the law for a long time. For him it means the departure of a contemporary drug policy.
Karl Lauterbach, Minister of Health: »The cannabis policy of the last ten years has failed. We have a doubling of consumption, especially among children and adolescents and young adults. Child protection doesn't work. The black market is getting bigger and bigger. We have had a doubling of drug deaths in the last decade. it could not go on like that. I was also against cannabis legalization for years. But the studies show that we need a new offer here.«
What remains critical is that THC poses a danger to the growing brains of people under the age of 25; according to addiction doctors, consumption can lead to mental disorders or schizophrenia, especially in young people. That is why there should be educational campaigns and advice in the growing associations.