Lean back and relax!

Turn on some music, for example the following piece, and enjoy reading!

A long overdue decision, and yet today the Bundesrat (the German Federal Council) had to hold a long debate on the planned law. The ideologically stubborn prohibition parties CDU (Christian conservative party) want to ignore the broad majority in the republic at all costs in order to prevent any further competition for their own favourite drug on the free market. Alcohol, mostly in the form of Beer. To this end, they tried to obtain a mediation committee in the Bundesrat.^[:]

Bubatz soon to be legal! After decades of debate, the Bundestag (German parliament) finally voted on the partial legalisation of cannabis in Germany on 23.02.2024. In favour: A broad majority of liberal and democratic forces from the Green Party to the Liberal Party. Against: Conservatives and right-wing extremists. Based on the intellectual statement of Marlene Mortler, a German right-wing conservative politician, "Forbidden, because it's illegal", it will hopefully soon be "allowed, because it's legal"!

Is Bubatz now legal?

From Easter Monday, the law will come into force after being signed by the German Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier.

It will then be legal for adults to possess up to 25 grams of cannabis for personal consumption. In addition, up to three cannabis plants will be permitted in one's own home and up to 50 grams of cannabis may be stored for personal use. In public spaces, it is not permitted to smoke weed within 100 metres (around 33 bathtubs for my friends with imperial systems) of the entrance to schools, sports facilities and kindergartens, among others. In addition, non-commercial "cultivation associations" for adults, in which up to 500 members are allowed to grow cannabis collectively, will also be possible. How this will work exactly remains to be seen.

But the justice system!

The decriminalisation of cannabis is a great opportunity for the justice system. At the moment, public prosecutors and judges, as well as police and customs officers throughout the country, are busy hunting down cannabis users. This is not only a pointless endeavour, but also an expensive one.

While it is true that reopening the old cannabis-related proceedings due to amnesty will mean a lot of work for the judiciary, the concern that this would result in more work should not be an argument for not introducing a law that is required by the rule of law. In the long term, on the other hand, numerous proceedings will be cancelled and the judiciary and authorities will be relieved of a considerable amount of work as a result.^[:]

And what about the youth?

Have you ever tried to buy cannabis? It's not difficult. Hardly any other drug, apart from alcohol and tobacco, is as easy to obtain as cannabis is.^[:] Prevention and controlled and, above all, legal ways of obtaining and consuming drugs will reduce the black market. It is simply no longer worthwhile. Prohibitions do not work for drugs that have long since reached the centre of society.^[:] Prohibition in the USA, which first really established an alcohol black market there, already demonstrated this.^[:]

In short: young people are already getting cannabis without any problems. However, they only learn how to use it to a limited extent and demonising drugs does not work. Education is the most effective way to protect young people from drugs. Incidentally, the youth protection debate is quite hypocritical as long as the far more dangerous drugs alcohol and tobacco continue to be not only legal, but also heavily advertised and sold in the immediate vicinity of schools and nurseries.^[:]

With red eyes into the future

Whether the law fulfils expectations and really reduces the black market remains to be seen. In 2013, Uruguay was the first country in the world to legalise the production, sale and consumption of marijuana. The number of consumers there has not really increased.^[:] The quality of the cannabis, however will.

I have great hope in the law. It draws a line under the previous ideological ban and finally clarifies the overdue legal framework for smoking weed. The long-term relief for the judiciary is a significant advantage for society as a whole, as is the fact that normal consumers will no longer be criminalised unnecessarily and at the expense of the state and society.

To say goodbye, I have a little hit for you for the coming weekend: