Judge confronts Germany’s law system in order to lift ban on cannabis

A legal battle is heating up in Germany, as a single judge is fighting against the law system in order to change their view towards cannabis. Since 2002, Judge Müller has been defending everything related to this plant, and now he’s seeking to lift cannabis ban in the European country. He wants the officials to re-evaluate the current views toward cannabis taking into consideration new research.

On Friday, April 24th, the Federal Constitutional Court (BVerfG) received a proposal related to the prohibition of cannabis. Judge Andreas Müller of the Bernau District Court believes that the ban on cannabis in Germany is unconstitutional and intends to prove this before the country’s highest court.

Judge Müller has been advocating the legalization of cannabis for many years. In 2002, he had already called on the BVerfG to check whether the ban on cannabis was compatible with the German Basic Law.

If you want to find out more about how Germany’s cannabis legalization process is moving forward and to find out the latest cannabis news, download the Hemp.im mobile application.

A fight against Germany’s cannabis ban

At that time, the BVerfG considered the judge’s application inadmissible, partly on the ground that it was itself bound by an earlier decision of 1994 under Article 31(1) of the Federal Constitutional Court Act. Judge Müller had thus not presented any new facts “that would have made it possible to depart from the earlier findings of the Federal Constitutional Court”, the BverfG had stated in 2004.

In order for a new appeal to the Constitutional Court to be admissible, Judge Müller must now prove that there have been “new facts” since 1994. For Müller, decriminalization or legalization in Portugal, Uruguay, Canada and eleven US states demonstrate that criminalization is “not necessary” to achieve objectives such as the protection of minors.

In the foreword to his 140-page brief, Müller explained that “it is imperative that the Federal Constitutional Court, which has not dealt with the ban on cannabis for more than 26 years, address the question of whether the persecution of millions of people in the Federal Republic of Germany because of cannabis use is still up to date and meets the requirements of a free society and the mandate of the Basic Law, in particular to protect minorities.”

The current classification of cannabis must be re-evaluated

Müller argues, among other things, that there is now evidence that the dangerousness of cannabis must be assessed differently than before: “The clearest and most up-to-date expression of the re-evaluation of the dangerousness of cannabis is to be found in the WHO Expert Committee, which in 2018 published a critical report on the current classification of cannabis.”

Müller also referred to the “general assumption that cannabis use leads to deterioration in mental health” which cannot be demonstrated.

“Although it can be shown that the most problematic people use cannabis particularly frequently, it is not possible to find evidence of a harmful effect of cannabis,” the judge’s report states. “In addition, it should be noted that “given the millions of users, relatively few go on an outpatient basis or are hospitalized because of a cannabis-related diagnosis.”

According to Judge de Bernau, the criminalization of approximately four million cannabis users in Germany not only violates many of the fundamental rights of the persons concerned, such as the “right to intoxication” under Article 2(1) of the Grundgesetz. It would also lead to “immense costs for the state and society due to the disproportionate nature of criminal sanctions.”

On several pages, Müller devotes himself to the relationship between cannabis and alcohol from the point of view of fundamental equality (Article 3 of the Grundgesetzf), with one conclusion: “The different treatment of cannabis and alcohol must be regarded as highly arbitrary.”

Currently, the only possibility for the decriminalization of cannabis lies with the BVerfG. No liberalization can be expected from the current federal government, as the Federal Commissioner for Drugs recently rejected any moves towards legalization.

__

(Featured Image by Daniel Bone via Pixabay)

DISCLAIMER: This article was written by a third party contributor and does not reflect the opinion of Hemp.im, its management, staff or its associates. Please review our disclaimer for more information.

This article may include forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements generally are identified by the words “believe,” “project,” “estimate,” “become,” “plan,” “will,” and similar expressions. These forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks as well as uncertainties, including those discussed in the following cautionary statements and elsewhere in this article and on this site. Although the Company may believe that its expectations are based on reasonable assumptions, the actual results that the Company may achieve may differ materially from any forward-looking statements, which reflect the opinions of the management of the Company only as of the date hereof. Additionally, please make sure to read these important disclosures.

First published in Newsweed, a third-party contributor translated and adapted the article from the original. In case of discrepancy, the original will prevail.

Although we made reasonable efforts to provide accurate translations, some parts may be incorrect. Hemp.im assumes no responsibility for errors, omissions or ambiguities in the translations provided on this website. Any person or entity relying on translated content does so at their own risk. Hemp.im is not responsible for losses caused by such reliance on the accuracy or reliability of translated information. If you wish to report an error or inaccuracy in the translation, we encourage you to contact us.