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CDU leader Friedrich Merz: "After taking over government, the Union would immediately reverse the law."
Photo: Michael Kappeler / dpa
CDU leader Friedrich Merz is not a supporter of cannabis, neither as a politician nor as a consumer. Now he announced that the Union would overturn the legalization of cannabis if it came to power in 2025 - if the Federal Council gave the green light for the law on Friday.
"After taking over government, the Union would immediately reverse the law," announced Merz in an interview with the newspapers of the Funke media group (Friday's edition).
The Bundestag passed the cannabis law in February. It stipulates that from April 1st, adults will be allowed to consume and sometimes grow cannabis under certain conditions.
The law does not require approval in the Bundesrat, but the state chamber could appeal to the mediation committee and thus slow down the process. Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD) has indicated that a complete blockade by the Union can then be expected and that the project could die.
Merz now confirmed this fear: "I hope that the states call the mediation committee and that the cannabis law stays there and never comes out again."
Merz warned the federal states against making a “fatal wrong decision.” Legalizing cannabis would have a “massive impact” on the health of young people in particular. In addition, thousands of completed criminal proceedings would have to be reopened.
The German Association of Judges, among others, had warned about this. The law stipulates that prison sentences or fines that have already been imposed for cannabis offenses that will no longer be punishable under the law in the future should be waived when it comes into force. D
The Federal Ministry of Health estimates the number of complex procedures that would need to be examined at short notice to be a maximum of 7,500 nationwide. The German Association of Judges said that the actual effort would be greater. A public prosecutor, however, told SPIEGEL that in many cases the amnesty only meant a small amount of additional effort.
vet/dpa