German conservatives threaten to reverse cannabis legalisation amid licence uncertainty

euronews (in English)

Germany recently allowed the restricted consumption of cannabis, but clubs that grow and share the plant say they are experiencing challenging levels of bureaucracy.

Transcript

00:00Niko Schock was hoping to take advantage of Germany's new laws allowing for the possession

00:08of marijuana, but his dreams of setting up a cannabis club to share the drug with others

00:13in Berlin is now on the move.

00:16He's setting up an office in the neighboring state of Brandenburg because he says the process

00:20for getting a license in the capital city has been so unclear.

00:25I think that a lot of clubs are like very unsure now because the requirements are very

00:32high and yeah that they still wanted to wait maybe to have like a clear situation and to

00:42know that the application will be also like positive.

00:47Clubs that grow and share marijuana are one of the ways consumers are allowed to access

00:51the drug since its consumption with restrictions was made illegal in April, but applicants

00:57are experiencing different levels of bureaucracy in different states.

01:01Berlin's local government told Euronews that the city's health department will be handling

01:06approval of clubs, but an analysis of the costs need to be carried out first.

01:12In the meantime, districts will be handling applications.

01:16The slow process for clubs is a special hindrance for users in Berlin, which has a significantly

01:22higher use of the drug compared to the national average.

01:26A 2021 survey found that more than half of Berliners have consumed cannabis at least

01:32once.

01:33Proponents say the challenges could push users to illegal sources.

01:37A lot of people that were going to set up felt like it was too bureaucratic, so they

01:43decided not to set up cannabis cultivation associations.

01:47Now with less cannabis cultivation associations, that doesn't leave, that leaves many consumers

01:51in the dark and it does give them the attitude or the feeling that they might have to revert

01:57back to the illicit market.

01:59While owning cannabis has been legalized, it has not stopped the black market.

02:04You can come to a park in central Berlin and buy it illegally.

02:08There's concerns of such a black market that could eventually lead to the law being reversed.

02:13The conservative Christian Democratic Party, which is leading in the polls, told Euronews

02:18that undoing the law will be a priority after next year's election.

02:23The party said there was a massive increase in drug-related crime, but the health ministry

02:28told Euronews that such crime statistics are not yet available for this year.

02:33As for Nico, he says that uncertainty has dampened the once celebratory mood.

02:39I was waiting for the legalization and fighted for it for many years, so of course I was

02:44very excited and looking forward to it when it announced that it becomes legal on the

02:50first of April this year, but now everybody is a little bit disappointed.

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