While the Greens, the Free Democrats and the Social Democrats are negotiating to form a new German government, the police have warned the parties against legalising cannabis in the country.
According to Politico, while the above-mentioned parties are all in favour of thorough cannabis reform, the police unions have spoken out against any plans to legalise possession and consumption of recreational cannabis in Germany.
Oliver Malchow, the head of Germany’s police union (GdP), told the Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung, said: “There must finally be an end to trivialising the joint.
“It makes no sense to open the door to another dangerous and often trivialised drug in addition to the legal but dangerous alcohol.”
Reforming the country’s cannabis policy is one of the hot topics of the ongoing coalition talks between the Social Democrats (SPD), the Greens and the Free Democrats (FDP).
Canex has previously reported on the cannabis conversation that has recently been evolving in Germany for a while now.
A few weeks ago, we reported that Daniela Ludwig, the head of the German Government for drug issues, has suggested that the possession of a small amount of cannabis should be “justified.”
She said: “Ludwig said: “Deploying the full force of the law against somebody caught for the first time in possession of cannabis is counterproductive.
“Portugal’s policy of decriminalisation, that is moving away from the application of criminal law and towards understanding that what we are seeing are petty offences.
“A real alternative if coupled with binding counselling options.”
Also, in our interview with one of the up-and-coming superstars of the European medical cannabis market, Cantourage CEO Philip Schetter said while “the stigma is real”, it is fading.
He added that recreational use and legislation around the issue depend on the political landscape – and now, as it seems Germany will see a pro-cannabis government, reform could be real.
At the same time, however, Rainer Wendt, the Head of the German Police Union, is, of course, supporting the status quo; and prohibition.
In perhaps a slightly dramatic tone, Wendt has made his opinion on the subject pretty clear.
He said, “[Legalising cannabis] would be the beginning of a stoned future instead of the launch of a modern Germany,” which is funny because the three political parties say the exact same thing with one little twist: they think ending prohibition would finally launch Germany into the 21st century.
