Germany decriminalizes marijuana amid opposition

The German government on Monday passed legislation to decriminalize the recreational use of marijuana. Marijuana use in the country was already taking place and increasing before the passage of the law, German Health Minister Karl Lauterbach said in a statement. He added that decriminalizing the drug’s use would help reduce consumption by young people, increase access to rehabilitation, and eliminate the black market for the drug.

Did anyone oppose this? Members of the conservative CDU/CSU party signaled their opposition to the law after its passage. “Only a few years ago, we would have thought it was an April Fool’s joke,” said CDU/CSU foreign affairs spokesman Jürgen Hardt in a translated statement. He said that in a few years, Germany would regret that decision. CDU/CSU leader Friedrich Merz also said that doctors and pharmacists had detailed the side effects of marijuana use and that stoned drivers would soon be clogging the country’s streets.

What did the medical research indicate the government should do? In April of last year, Germany’s Institute for Interdisciplinary Addiction and Drug Research published a report funded by the German Ministry of Health. In it, the authors said Germany had been planning to legalize the recreational use of marijuana as far back as late 2021. The group had been tasked to research the effects of legalizing weed. The team of authors concluded that where marijuana use increased, health problems related to its use increased, and the best way to avoid increasing health problems among adults and youth was to limit the drug’s availability after it was legalized.

Is Germany working to limit its availability? The law allows adults to possess up to 25 grams of marijuana and possess and tend to up to three plants privately. Adults will also be able to join nonprofit clubs—with a maximum limit of 500 members—wherein all the members can buy and use up to 25 grams per day or 50 grams a month.

Dig deeper: Read Addie Offereins’ report in Compassion about how “polysubstance abuse” is the next wave of the United States’ addiction crisis.