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The German federal parliament has rejected a bill to legalize a “strictly controlled” adult-use cannabis market, a major setback for efforts to reform recreational marijuana in the country.
The rejection occurred despite the fact that a majority of Bundestag members belong to a political party that favors a certain type of reform.
Legalization efforts during this legislative period are extremely unlikely because:
- The center-right Christian Democratic political alliance of German Chancellor Angela Merkel – the Union – opposes any liberalization.
- The Social Democratic Party (SPD) supports some form of reform—at least allowing experimental pilot programs—but cannabis reform has fallen on deaf ears among the Social Democrats, who prefer to vote in tandem with their governing coalition partner, the Union.
- Without votes in favor from at least some members of the governing coalition parties—which hold a parliamentary majority—no legalization scenario is possible.
While most opposition parties support some form of legalization, they remain in opposition and cannot agree on how it should be implemented. The rejected bill was introduced by the Green Party and received support only from the Left Party. The combined votes of the two parties failed. The Free Democratic Party (FDP), meanwhile, abstained from voting.
FDP lawmakers voted in favor of legalization but disagreed with the specific bill put forward by the Green Party, preferring a more practical approach.
Wieland Schinnenburg, the FDP’s drug policy spokesperson, said his party wanted a “cannabis freedom law” instead of the Green Party’s proposed “cannabis control law,” which he said was “full of regulations” that would prevent a future legal marijuana market from functioning.
As expected, the parties in Germany’s ruling coalition, the Union and the SPD, voted against the bill.
Without their votes, legalization is unlikely in the foreseeable future, contrary to what some Canadian cannabis leaders had predicted. SPD lawmakers who spoke on the issue signaled their support for some relaxation of cannabis laws, but they rejected the legalization bill due to “coalition discipline.” The Union—the largest political alliance in parliament—rejected the bill because its members strongly oppose any reform of recreational marijuana. The right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) was the only opposition party to vote against the bill.
Other proposals
Several cannabis-related motions proposed by opposition parties were also rejected. These included proposals from:
The AfD to treat medical cannabis products like any other drug, requiring proof of treatment efficacy. This measure was firmly rejected. It was the only positive outcome of the day for the regulated cannabis industry, which favors more lenient regulations.
- The FDP to allow recreational marijuana use.
- The FDP aims to significantly increase the amount of medical marijuana cultivated in Germany.
The left wing decriminalizes the possession of up to 15 grams of cannabis.
Another left-wing motion, to allow a small amount of THC in the blood while driving, comparable to the current maximum alcohol concentration in Germany, has been sent to the Bundestag’s transport committee for further discussion.
Upcoming elections
With little chance of the recreational marijuana reform passing during the current legislative period, the question becomes what might happen after the next federal elections, expected in about a year.
While it is still too early to predict the results—especially which parties will be in government and which will be in opposition—one sign is positive for the reform of cannabis for adults.
