Cannabis Policy Reform in Germany

• In Event: Emerging Issues in Criminal Justice Policy: The International Perspective

Abstract

In 1994 and 2004, the German Federal Constitutional Court reaffirmed the legal appropriateness of prohibition. Since then, studies and data about the dangers and effects of cannabis use have quieted alarm, and Europe, alongside the once-prohibitive United States, has had its initial experiences with liberalized use of cannabis.
Thirty years later, in February 2024, Germany’s parliament has decided on the controlled release of cannabis. According to the law, possession and cultivation of cannabis for personal use are set to become legal with numerous regulations starting on April 1st. The decision to decriminalize cannabis possession in Germany has sparked much criticism.
Germany's draft regulation framework for cannabis decriminalization illustrates an unavoidable tension between conflicting goals, namely restrictive use and availability provisions intended to protect public health that may enable the illicit market to continue. Early experiences with cannabis legalization in the U.S. suggest that it is difficult to make trade-offs in favor of public health once the genie is out of the bottle. Indeed, the German approach is no less than a small revolution of over half a century of cannabis prohibition in Europe. The question remains: how is Germany going to do it without breaking European and international law?

Authors

• Kristin Pfeffer, Hamburg University of Applied Police Sciences

• Luise von Rodbertus, Hamburg University of Applied Police Sciences