Here’s their full commentary in their latest newsletter
2024-11-15 | In the current hour “Take the effects on internal security seriously – repeal cannabis legalization” in the Bundestag, the CDU/CSU parliamentary group called for the cannabis law to be withdrawn. The German Cannabis Business Association (BvCW) states: Withdrawing the law would lead to a dead end. In addition, over 30 cannabis cultivation associations (with numbers rising) already have permits with a term of 7 years.
“If the Union factions want to dry up the black market and fight organized crime, the cannabis industry is on their side. However, if this is to be achieved by criminalizing patients and consumers, this is the wrong approach. The criminals are not the users, but the players in the black market,” says Dirk Heitepriem, President of the BvCW.
The aim of the federal government was to create legal cultivation and distribution via licensed specialist stores. This has not been implemented. “Legal access options such as home cultivation, cultivation associations, but also commercial models with licensed specialist stores are the best solution to push back the black market. A new federal government should therefore ensure that these legal access points to cannabis are created and maintained,” says Michael Greif, Managing Director of the BvCW. Furthermore, cannabis legalization also aims to protect minors. “There is no protection of minors on the black market, dealers don’t ask for ID. But there are dangerous additives. The state can ensure the best protection of minors and consumers through a legal and regulated market.”
“A reversal of the CanG would also set Germany back considerably in terms of international competition and research opportunities with regard to cannabis,” Dr. Stefan Meyer, Vice President of the BvCW, underlines. The cannabis industry in Germany has created hundreds of jobs in recent years, given thousands of patients access to urgently needed therapies and proven that high-quality and safe products can also be produced in Germany.
“Regulation instead of prohibition – this should also be the motto for a new federal government. The cannabis industry is ready to work together to dry up the black market. This requires commercial opportunities to cultivate and distribute cannabis in Germany, legal access to home-grown cannabis for consumption, safety and reliability for patients and a liberalization of industrial hemp,” says Dirk Heitepriem. As a first step, the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture could now issue the Consumer Cannabis Science Competence Ordinance (KCanWV).
