Germany’s Cannabis Legalization Faces Uncertainty Amid Political Challenges.
Germany’s long-anticipated ‘Pillar 2’ is in danger of being abandoned by the government amid ongoing political roadblocks both domestically and from the EU.
With the growing political prominance of right-leaning parties in German state elections, and the expectation they will have a much larger voice in government in the coming months, the race is now on to push through legislation to get the second half of its cannabis liberalisation project moving.
Meanwhile, a growing number of municipalities are voicing their interest in participating in the model projects set to be introduced by Pillar 2.
What is Pillar 2?
Pillar 2, which was first announced in the summer of 2023, was the traffic light coalition’s response to pushback from the European Commission regarding their initial plans to launch a full commercial adult use market.
Reports suggest that the EC had informed the German government that these plans would violate numerous EU laws like the Shengen Agreement, potentially putting the country under threat of infringement proceedings.
The architects of the bill then proposed two separate ‘pillars’ which would still aim to achieve its key goals without violating EU law.
The second of these would enable the launch of ‘pilot projects’, where open sale of adult-use cannabis would be allowed for a limited duration in order to scientifically study the impacts on various areas, including the black market, health and youth protection.
This strategy is already being successfully employed in Switzerland, which now has seven pilot projects running throughout its various states.
Where does it currently stand?
A draft of the bill was initially slated to be ready by the end of summer 2023, but this was delayed until April 2024.
While it was initially planned that a separate secondary law would have to be implemented to launch Pillar 2, as Business of Cannabis reported in May, it is now expected to be regulated under the current CanG law, meaning a separate law will not need to be passed to push it through.
Under Chapter 1 Section 2 Paragraph 4 of the current CanG Act, ‘anyone who wants to possess, cultivate, produce, import, export, acquire, receive, deliver, pass on cannabis for scientific purposes, extract cannabinoids from the cannabis plant or trade in cannabis for scientific purposes requires a permit’.
In the April draft bill, titled the ‘Consumer Cannabis Science Responsibility Ordinance’ (KCanWV), the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food (BLE) assigned itself as the responsible authority for permits, monitoring and implementing regulations.
Since cannabis is no longer classified as a narcotic following the passage of Pillar 1, the responsibility for overseeing cannabis model projects would shift from BfArM (the Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices), which traditionally handles narcotics-related matters, to the BLE.
However, the The Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL), of which the BLE serves as an executive agency, is still reportedly waiting for a draft of the bill from Karl Lauterbach, the architect of the bill and the head of the Federal Ministry of Health (BMG).
Speaking to LTO, a BMEL spokesperson said that the ‘draft bill for the law is to be drawn up under the leadership of the Federal Ministry of Health (BMG)’, adding that the BMG should be contacted regarding its status.
Mr Lauterbach’s office stated (and reportedly has for months): “The Federal Government’s work on preparing the second pillar involves complex technical and legal issues and requires coordination between the ministries involved. This coordination has not yet been finalised.”
Ates Gürpinar, drug policy spokesperson for the Left Party in the Bundestag, told LTO that he ‘no longer expects the law on Pillar 2 by the end of the legislative period’.
With suggestions from Mr Lauterbach that the draft law would be submitted to the EC for analysis in advance, a process which usually takes months, the leader of the conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU), Friedrich Merz, stating his intention to withdraw cannabis legalisation would be withdrawn if his party wins the next federal election, time appears to be running out for the bill.
Support from states
Earlier this month, Wiesbaden announced plans to participate in a nationwide cannabis model project aimed at testing the sale of cannabis in pharmacies.
Health Minister Milena Löbcke signed a declaration of intent to support this initiative, emphasising the importance of creating a legal sales system to undercut the black market and enhance youth and health protections. The project, which involves collaboration with the association “Cannabis Research Germany,” will be scientifically supervised by the Center for Interdisciplinary Addiction Research Hamburg.
Wiesbaden’s focus will be on testing cannabis sales through pharmacies, part of a broader initiative involving up to 25 cities across Germany. To prepare for the project, the city is establishing a “Cannabis Coordination Office” and has already garnered interest from several larger pharmacies. However, strict regulations will govern the program.
In May 2024, a study by the German news publisher Die Welt suggested that at least 11 German cities are considering becoming model regions for Pillar 2, including Bremen, Hanover, Bonn, Frankfurt, Munich, Tübingen, Leipzig, Schwerin, Offenbach, Darmstadt and Wiesbaden.
However, the cities of Nuremberg, Freiburg, Aachen, Essen and Eisenach have all stated they definitely do not want to participate as model regions for Pillar Two pilot projects.
The research proposal is slated for submission to the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture in October.
