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Germany legalises cannabis with 'strict rules' which UK is urged to follow

Home> News> World News

Updated 16:37 23 Feb 2024 GMTPublished 16:30 23 Feb 2024 GMT

Germany legalises cannabis with 'strict rules' which UK is urged to follow

Though it will soon be legal to smoke in public places, buying cannabis will remain tricky

Joe Harker

Joe Harker

Germany has officially passed a bill making the use of cannabis in the country legal, under certain conditions.

Smoking cannabis in many public spaces will become legal from 1 April, though places near schools and sports grounds will be among those where it is still illegal, while out and about in public it will be legal to possess up to 25g of the drug.

Germans will also be allowed to grow up to three cannabis plants of their own, but buying the drug from elsewhere will be heavily restricted.

Residents who are aged 18 or over will from 1 July onwards be able to join non-profit 'cannabis clubs', though the clubs can only have a maximum of 500 members each.

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The clubs will be allowed to grow cannabis plants for their members to consume, with members being able to buy a maximum of 25g of cannabis from their club in a day and at most 50g a month.

In essence Germans will legally be allowed to possess quite a lot of cannabis, but acquiring it will not be an easy thing.

Germany is legalising cannabis, but should other countries follow?
Getty Stock Photo

Only German residents aged 18 or over would be allowed to join a club, and a person would only be allowed to be a member of one cannabis club at a time.

This plan today (23 February) passed through the Bundestag, the lower house of the German parliament (like the UK's House of Commons) by 407 votes to 226, with right-wing politicians opposing the change.

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Health minister Karl Lauterbach said the government wanted to 'fight the black market' and protect young people, and after 18 months an evaluation of how legalising cannabis is working will happen in Germany.

There are punishments in place for anyone caught dealing to children as they'd expect to face at least two years in prison.

Over here in the UK there are some Brits who reckon we should be following suit and legalising weed.

Some backers of the wacky-baccy reckon it 'could do so much for so many people with chronic conditions' and would bring in 'plenty of revenue, rather than lining drug dealers pockets'.

There's growing support for legalising cannabis in the UK, but it's not yet been attempted by any government.
Omer Messinger/Getty Images

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In the UK, it's been legal to use cannabis for medical reasons since 2018, but it remains a criminal offence to supply, produce or use the drug in any other way.

Polling in the UK last year indicated that around 35 percent of Brits support legalising cannabis, but it was a narrow divide as 38 percent were opposed to changing the current laws.

As the calls for new legalisation continue, Germany is the most recent model for countries considering it to look at.

Speaking to LADbible last year, Stephen Murphy of Prohibition Partners said the country was 'trying to understand how to address the black market properly'.

Should the UK be following the German example?

Featured Image Credit: Getty Stock Photo / Omer Messinger/Getty Images

Topics: Drugs, World News, UK News

Joe Harker
Joe Harker

Joe graduated from the University of Salford with a degree in Journalism and worked for Reach before joining the LADbible Group. When not writing he enjoys the nerdier things in life like painting wargaming miniatures and chatting with other nerds on the internet. He's also spent a few years coaching fencing. Contact him via [email protected]

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@MrJoeHarker

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