Bureaucracy, politics and EU rules have turned Germany’s plans into a damp squib — and opened up the market more for dealers.
Germany's much-heralded legalization of cannabis appears to be falling short on one of its biggest promises — stamping out the black market.
When it was introduced earlier this year, Health Minister Karl Lauterbach claimed the law would "put dealers out of work" and combat gangs selling more dangerous and often laced pot.
But due to bureaucracy, political reluctance and the EU, there's one big winner currently benefiting from the relaxed rules: your local dealer.
Since April 1, adults can possess up to 25 grams of cannabis and grow a maximum of three plants at home. And since July, Germany has also allowed "cannabis clubs," where up to 500 adults can become members and grow and obtain cannabis for their own use.
But while it is legal to walk down the street with a few grams of marijuana in your pocket, it is not yet legal to buy weed in Germany, leaving illicit trade to fill the gaps.
"Illegally traded cannabis still comes mainly from Morocco (hashish) and Spain (marijuana) and is transported to Germany by truck via France, Belgium and the Netherlands or is produced here in illegal indoor plantations," the German Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) told POLITICO.
The Federal Ministry of Health strongly denies its more relaxed approach to weed has fuelled the black market.
"We expressly do not share this criticism," a spokesperson for the ministry told POLITICO.
The legalization of recreational cannabis was part of an agreement between the country's three-party coalition government, and was finalized about six months ago. But today, cannabis clubs have not yet spread across Germany as widely as planned.
Bumbling bureaucracy
The first hurdle: All cannabis clubs need a license.
While complicated requirements have prevented some people from applying for a licence, those with more determination do not even know which authority is responsible for processing their application.
Licensing authorities are also confused. "We currently have no legal means of determining the rules according to which we should issue the licences," said Clara Herrmann, mayor of Berlin's Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg district. "We need a legal ordinance from the Senate."
Currently, applications "will not be processed until further notice," she added.
Nico Schack, the managing director of Bunte Blüte, is among those who have submitted an application in Berlin and hope to open a social club soon.
But Berlin's bureaucratic chaos has led him to consider moving his company to the neighboring state of Brandenburg, where he says applications are processed more quickly.
"In this business, you need to be resilient from the start," said Schack, who was one of the first entrepreneurs in Germany to sell CBD products, comprising cannabis extract that does not cause a high and is legal in most EU countries.
Among the many license rules that social club owners will have to comply with are a youth protection policy, a ban on advertising and a destruction policy.
In addition, the premises where their weed is grown and sold must not be located within 100 meters of schools, childcare facilities and playgrounds. The same rules apply to the consumption of marijuana.
Schack does not expect his club to be up and running before April 2025. He first needs a licence (expected to take at least three months), then to rent a place to grow and sell the weed, and finally to grow it (which takes another three months).
The Federal Health Ministry agreed that "some state governments could decide on such applications more quickly." But the spokesperson also pointed out that, if the full proposals to commercialize weed had been realized, shops would also have to comply with the same conditions as cannabis clubs. Therefore, it's unlikely shops would have replaced dealers by now.
Huge legal reservations in some conservative states will not make it any easier. Bavaria, for example, is investing millions in controlling cannabis consumption.
"We will make sure that Bavaria does not become a smoking hotbed despite the legalization of cannabis," Bavaria's Health Minister Judith Gerlach said earlier this year. Her party tried several times to stop the law.
But the main reason why the black market is applauding lies in the construction of the law itself — which is far from what the coalition originally planned.
Watered-down ambition
When the Liberals and Greens formed the "traffic light" coalition with the Social Democrats, they saw a historic opportunity to make Germany the first country in Europe to legalize the commercial sale of the drug. They wrote that promise into their coalition agreement with the Social Democrats.
The idea was that only a legal alternative to buying the drug — and not just growing it at home — would combat the black market. But the project soon ran into major obstacles, especially in Europe.
EU countries are divided on the issue, with some including Spain, the Netherlands and Austria taking a more liberal approach, while countries like France are restrictive.
But European legal barriers, in particular, quickly made Berlin nervous.
The sale of drugs (including cannabis) is banned across the EU, as is their production and cross-border trade. Faced with a legal disaster, Lauterbach and the coalition opted to water down the law.
They decided to legalize the consumption and private cultivation of the drug first, and to postpone the planned commercial sale and production, which is unlikely to be realized in this legislature.
The coalition's initial promise to pot smokers has therefore been reduced to a puff of smoke. But the Social Democrats in particular do not seem to be too sad about it.
Bitter-sweet outcome?
Chancellor Olaf Scholz is known to have dismissed the project as stupid but necessary to keep the coalition partners calm.
And Lauterbach, also a Social Democrat, has been a staunch opponent of legalizing the drug for decades, citing the medical damage to young adults.
But, legalization has made Lauterbach popular on German social media and a hero to the self-styled "weed mob."
They also praised him for claiming on television that he had smoked a joint, but "that was a long time ago" and "out of date," he said.
His legalization may also be out of date soon. It is unlikely to survive a change to a conservative-led government after next year's elections, which the poll suggests will happen.
Thorsten Frei, the parliamentary secretary of the CDU/CSU, recently said that the party was “fundamentally opposed” to the bill. If there is a change of government, they will reverse it, he said.
