Germany could legalise cannabis under new coalition agreement

 EMMANUEL CROSET /AFP

Marcus Parekh
Fri, November 19, 2021

Germany's future ruling coalition is expected to legalise the sale of recreational cannabis, local media reports.

Olaf Scholz's Social Democrats (SPD), along with likely partners to Greens and Free Democrats (FDP) are still working out details of their coalition deal, but any deal is expected to include rules under which the sale and use of recreational cannabis would be allowed and regulated in Europe's largest economy.

The three parties plan to "introduce the regulated sale of cannabis to adults for consumption purposes in licensed stores," according to the coalition's health group's findings.

This ensures quality control, prevents the distribution of contaminated products, and guarantees the protection of minors, it said. However, it is not yet clear whether the cultivation of cannabis within Germany will also be legalised.

The Social Democrats described the use of cannabis as a “social reality” in their election manifesto and called for an “appropriate political way of dealing with this”.

Germany could legalise cannabis under new coalition agreement - CLEMENS BILAN/POOL/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock /Shutterstock

Medicinal cannabis has been legal in Germany since 2017, but the Greens and FDP have long pushed for full legalisation, as seen in Canada.

Should an agreement be reached, it would make Germany Europe's largest cannabis market. Last month, Luxembourg became the first country in Europe to fully legalise the sale of cannabis.

Legalisation could bring Germany annual tax revenues and cost savings of about 4.7 billion euros (£3.95 billion) and create 27,000 new jobs, according to survey as politicians thrash out rules for the budding sector.

The survey by the Institute for Competition Economics (DICE) at the Heinrich Heine University in Duesseldorf, and commissioned by the German hemp association, found that legalising cannabis could lead to additional tax revenues of about 3.4 billion euros (£2.86 billion) per year.

At the same time, it could bring cost savings in the police and judicial system of 1.3 billion euros (£1.1 billion) per year while creating tens of thousands of jobs in the cannabis economy.

Legalising cannabis in Germany would give a boost to a ballooning European market that is expected to be worth more than 3 billion euros (£2.52 billion) in annual revenue by 2025, up from about 400 million euros (£336 million) this year, according to the European Cannabis Report by research firm Prohibition Partners.