Hanf
With regard to cannabis, Austria is one of the most repressive taillights in the EU. While most European countries have already introduced a THC limit in road traffic and some countries have decriminalized consumption, Austria is at a standstill. Medical cannabis is also not available in Austria.
Only Dronabinol can be purchased using an addictive venom recipe after a long bureaucratic effort. The coalition negotiations for the formation of a new government are currently taking place in Austria. Unfortunately, it is becoming apparent that Austria will be ruled by a coalition in the coming legislative period, which is probably the most unfavorable combination in terms of drug policy.
From today’s perspective, a coalition of FPÖ and ÖVP will form in Austria. In this regard, coalition negotiations are currently taking place after the negotiations between ÖVP, SPÖ and NEOS have recently failed. While cannabis legalization was not explicitly part of the election program in any of the parties in the new elections last fall, the coalition that has now emerged is probably the most unfavorable in terms of progressive drug policy. The ÖVP is traditionally conservative and the FPÖ is an absolute opponent of legalization.
According to the current status, it can be assumed that tightening can even be expected. At the very least, there will most likely be an absolute standstill on cannabis in this legislative period. A coalition of FPÖ and ÖVP ruled Austria earlier until it broke up due to the 2019 Ibiza scandal. Even then, tightening of the addictive substances law was announced. Part of the government program included a restriction of cannabis-based drugs, a ban on selling hemp seeds and hemp cuttings, and an increase in penalties for such offenses.
At that time, the mainstream media mentioned that the Austrian government is going to war against cannabis. The planned tightening was no longer implemented because the coalition broke up in 2019. Now, however, the same coalition is emerging again and it does not appear that cannabis attitudes have changed in recent years. When on the 1st April 2024 Cannabis was partially decriminalized in Germany, which triggered a wave of outrage in Austria among the FPÖ ranks. „Borders close to illegal drugs “ were said.
Decriminalization in Germany was literally described as an attack on young people and drug tourism was feared. Cannabis is also repeatedly referred to as an entry-level drug. The FPÖ is known for its absolute zero tolerance for cannabis, and nothing seems to have changed to this day.
No added value for traffic safety, instead destruction of livelihoods
By far the greatest danger posed by the upcoming coalition is a drastic tightening of driving license law. In this context, there is already a fully drafted law that was about to be introduced in 2019, but then ended up in the drawer due to the failed coalition. In recent years, the FPÖ have repeatedly insisted on finally introducing this law. Specifically, this law is about a massive tightening of the punishment of the so-called drug drivers.
A positive drug test on the road should be equated with driving a vehicle below 1.6 per mille of alcohol. There is no limit in this law, which means that this aggravation is without any evidence. In plain language, this means that even someone who consumes CBD products and gets into control with traces of THC days later can expect the same sanctions as someone who drove heavily alcoholized.
This has absolutely nothing to do with traffic safety and lacks any logic and proportionality. Should this law be taken out of the drawer again and implemented in the coming legislative period, this would be a step backwards into a drug-political Stone Age. This law would destroy financial livelihoods, causing significantly more harm than controlled consumption with evidence-based limits could ever do.
Advice resistance and outdated views
In a way, it seems to have become a tradition to completely ignore objective facts in some political ranks. Just as in Bavaria the beer mug is used to weather cannabis in hand, the so-called drug drivers have always been an absolute thorn in the side of the FPÖ.
For ideological reasons, it is still not accepted that most of these so-called drug drivers are sober when stopped. What is fatal to most here and costs its existence are traces of THC, which can stem from consumption that has been going on for days. You absolutely don’t want to understand that in some political camps, even if many European countries have taken a different course and it is a fact that these small traces of THC do not affect the suitability for driving.
