The path to legalisation of adult use in Germany has taken another turn after the country’s centre-left coalition government approved a plan to change the law this week.
Under the bill, which still needs to pass in parliament, adults would be able to possess up to 25 grams of cannabis, grow up to three plants and join non-profit cannabis clubs with a maximum of 500 members.
Advertising would be banned, with exclusion zones around schools, playgrounds and sports facilities.
Describing the plan as “an important turning point in our drug policy”, health minister Karl Lauterbach told reporters in Berlin: “We have rising, problematic consumption, we couldn’t simply allow this to go on.”
Although the bill was approved by the cabinet, opposition from conservative politicians in Germany remains vociferous. The government previously scaled back its plans following extended talks with the European Commission.
