Germany Inches Closer to Adult Use Cannabis

For citizens of Germany, legislation works a little differently. Theirs is a parliamentary body made of multiple parties – not just two primary bodies like the Democrats and Republicans – and in order to get work done, some weird alliances sometimes have to be made. Depending on which parties are in power, and depending on how much power they have (i.e. how many seats are held by legislators of their party), policy makers are forced to negotiate with players on the other end of the ideological spectrum.

Fortunately for us cannabis supporters, that may be the perfect storm. Perhaps more than any other contemporary political issue, social justice warriors on the left end of the specturm agree with individual freedom warriors on the right end of the spectrum – cannabis should be legal for adult use.

After a disappointing election for her party last month – the Christian Democratic Union – German’s Prime Minister Angela Merkel needs to procure some political wins, and she needs the help of disparate parties. One of those political efforts appears to be a move toward adult-use legalization for the powerful European country.

From Tom Angell’s Marijuana Moment:

“The conservative alliance is now in talks with Free Democrats and Greens to form a governing agreement and, as part of those negotiations, are nearing completion of a deal to legalize marijuana and have it legally distributed through pharmacies, the German newspaper Stuttgarter-Zeitung is reporting.

“Members of the so-called “Jamaica coalition” (because the colors of the involved parties are reminiscent of those on the Caribbean nation’s flag) are expected to formalize a marijuana policy agreement toward the tail end of the talks, after other issues are settled.”

Other issues the coalition reportedly will be working on include immigration and climate change, undoubtedly hot topics for the German people. It’s a welcome development indeed to see cannabis legalization be thrown into the top tiers of the political agenda. For those of us who have been watching the polling on this topic for years, it’s a no-brainer. People from all parts of the political spectrum agree – no more jail for this plant!

Find out more when the International Cannabis Business Conference (ICBC) returns to Berlin, Germany, this spring, on April 11-13, 2018. In the meantime, don’t miss the ICBC Financial Investor Summit happening in Kauai, Hawaii on December 1-3, 2017! Get your tickets today!