Cali Weed Deutschland - The First Step Towards Legalising Marijuana
Cali Weed Deutschland - The First Step Towards Legalising Marijuana
Blog Article
In Germany, weed isn’t for sale. But in April, the nation became one of the first to allow adults to cultivate it in social clubs, a step towards legalising a drug many people in the country call “bubatz.” But bureaucracy imposed by Europe and disagreements within the Bundestag mean that Germany’s path to legally selling cannabis is far from clear.
A German court has given the first social club the green light, but a new law still needs to be passed before commercial sales can take place. A consultation process that included five public hearings with health experts, economists and cannabis growers concluded this week, firing the starting gun for a race to get all the required permits in place.
It’s also not clear whether the program will last, with a general election due to be held in February, and a new conservative government expected to emerge. If the CDU and its partners win, it is likely to drop cannabis reforms that were part of a coalition deal with the Greens and Social Democrats.
That could spell trouble for Germany’s nascent weed industry. The governing coalition has been quick to point out that it’s not promoting the drug and that marijuana is a dangerous substance. But the move to permit cultivation and sales in clubs is designed to curb the black market for a drug that is used by more than 4.5 million of Germany’s 70 million citizens.
The plan is to roll out a system Cali gras kaufen similar to that of the Netherlands, which allows coffee shops but still criminalises possession and trading. This would include a closed supply chain and a track-and-trace scheme to cut out the black market. The first clubs are expected to open in July.
Bluetezeit, a startup that’s developing the software for the clubs, says it can only survive if it is able to sell its software in Germany. But without a legal market for weed, it’s hard to see how the company can compete with pushers selling cheap weed out of plastic bags stamped with a shiney German or Dutch logo.
Several entrepreneurs say they’re already preparing for the next stage of cali weed deutschland, which will be a full-fledged retail market that includes pharmacies and licensed shops. That could be a long time coming. It would require a change to the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, which bans all sales of the plant. Trying to circumvent that convention is an extremely risky strategy, and it’s not clear how successful it would be. But some companies are betting big on Germany eventually becoming the biggest pot market in Europe. They’re investing in offices, security and cultivation equipment while waiting for the right time to open shop. They hope a legal, regulated market will drive the price of illicit drugs down and encourage other countries to follow suit. Read the rest of this article in Prohibition Partners' German Cannabis Report.
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