Munich (dpa / lby) – Bavaria’s Health Minister Klaus Holetschek wants to have the federal government’s plans for cannabis legalization reviewed with a legal opinion. “Despite major health risks and legal concerns, the traffic light coalition has so far stuck to its plans. That’s why I commissioned a legal opinion to clarify the international and European legal limits of cannabis legalization in Germany,” said the CSU politician in Munich. His goal is to objectify the debate. The report should be available by the end of February 2023.
Bernhard Wegener, Chair of Public Law and European Law at the Friedrich-Alexander University in Erlangen, was commissioned to draft the report.
The Bavarian state government has so far categorically rejected the federal government’s legalization plans. Holetschek recently asked the EU Commission to veto the implementation in Brussels because it violates European law. This obliges Germany and the other EU member states to criminalize the production, sale and distribution of narcotic substances such as cannabis. The only exception to this is strictly monitored trade that is used for medical or scientific purposes.
“The report we commissioned will examine these and other aspects objectively,” emphasized Holetschek. It cannot be that cannabis is played down as a so-called stimulant. “This undermines all prevention and education efforts.”
“In addition, if the project is actually to be implemented, maximum sales limits and upper limits for the THC content would have to be clearly defined. That has not happened so far,” said Holetschek. Tetrahydrocannabinol, i.e. THC, is responsible for the serious health risks of cannabis. “Without an upper limit, there is a risk that products with a high THC content will come onto the market, which will have a stronger effect. For me, this has nothing to do with health protection anymore.”
According to Holetschek, young people in particular are at risk of considerable health risks and negative long-term effects on age-appropriate development from cannabis consumption, since the human brain only matures from around the mid-20s. “Legalization without a corresponding age limit would therefore be grossly negligent.”