Whilst everybody else jumps up and down rubbing their hands in glee at how much money they think they can make and the media report unquestioningly that legal cannabis is already a done deal in Germany.
It is probably worth taking a step back and as the NY Times reminds us, Germany is a country of coalitions and the numbers might not actually be there.
Criticism of the plan came swiftly. Markus Blume, the party secretary of the CSU, the Bavaria-only sister party to Ms. Merkel’s C.D.U., called the idea a “dangerous experiment” and warned that cannabis acted as a gateway drug.
“It makes a drug that is harmful to health into a lifestyle product,” Mr. Blume said of the proposal.
Indeed, Mr. Blume is not alone. A study released last month found that only 30 percent of respondents thought the drug should be legalized for recreational use. Another 59 percent believed it was better left the way it has been since 2011: a medicinal product that requires a doctor’s prescription.
And while the Greens campaigned on clear rules for cannabis use and the Free Democrats have argued legalization could bring money into state coffers, the outgoing conservative government insists legalization is dangerous.
“Cannabis legalization would be a breach of the dam,” Stephan Pilsinger, the conservative parliamentary faction expert on drugs, said in October. “At some point, unfortunately, we’ll be talking about legalizing all drugs.”
Read the full article at. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/24/world/europe/german-government-cannabis.html
Here’s what the cannabis & other media are saying
MJ Biz
https://mjbizdaily.com/germany-to-legalize-recreational-cannabis-sales-incoming-coalition-pledges/
Benzinga
The Daily Mail (UK)
