Second Phase of Cannabis Legalization in Germany in Jeopardy

The second phase of cannabis legalization in Germany, known as the “second pillar,” faces political hurdles at both the national and EU levels, especially with rising right-wing influence and potential legal challenges from the European Commission. Despite uncertainties, several German cities are still moving forward with plans to carry out pilot projects to test the regulated sale of cannabis.

The long-planned “second pillar” of cannabis legalization in Germany may be abandoned by the government due to current political obstacles, both at the national level and within the EU.

With the rising political influence of right-wing parties in recent German regional elections, and their potential to gain a more significant voice in government in the coming months, there is now a race to push forward the second half of the cannabis liberalization project.

Meanwhile, an increasing number of municipalities are expressing interest in participating in the pilot projects planned under the second pillar.

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What Is the Second Pillar?

The second pillar, first announced in the summer of 2023, represents the response of Germany’s traffic light coalition to the European Commission’s refusal to launch a full commercial market for adult use.

Various reports suggest that the European Commission informed the German government that these plans would violate numerous EU laws, such as the Schengen Agreement, potentially putting the country at risk of an infringement procedure.

In response, the architects of the bill proposed two distinct “pillars” that would enable achieving the primary goals of the project without violating European legislation.

The second pillar would allow the launch of “pilot projects,” under which the free sale of cannabis for adult use would be permitted for a limited time to scientifically study the effects on various areas, including the black market, health, and youth protection.

This strategy is already being successfully applied in Switzerland, where seven pilot projects are currently underway across different states.

What Is the Status of the Bill?

A bill was initially expected to be ready by the end of summer 2023 but has been postponed until April 2024.

While it was initially planned that a separate secondary law would be needed to launch Pillar 2, as reported by Business of Cannabis in May, it is now expected to be regulated within the current CanG law, meaning a separate law will not need to be passed to implement it.

According to Chapter 1, Section 2, Paragraph 4 of the existing cannabis law, “Anyone who wishes to possess, cultivate, produce, import, export, acquire, receive, deliver, transfer cannabis for scientific purposes, extract cannabinoids from the cannabis plant, or trade cannabis for scientific purposes must obtain a permit.”

In the April bill, titled “Regulation on the Scientific Responsibility of Cannabis Consumers” (KCanWV), the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BLE) designated itself as the authority responsible for issuing permits, controlling, and implementing the regulations.

Since cannabis is no longer considered a narcotic following the adoption of the first pillar, the responsibility for overseeing the cannabis model projects would shift from BfArM (Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices), which traditionally handles narcotics issues, to the BLE.

However, the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL), of which the BLE is an executive agency, is reportedly still waiting for a draft bill from Karl Lauterbach, the bill’s architect and the head of the Federal Ministry of Health (BMG).

Speaking to the LTO, a spokesperson for BMEL stated that “the bill must be drafted under the leadership of the Federal Ministry of Health (BMG),” adding that the BMG should be contacted for the bill’s progress.

Mr. Lauterbach’s office has stated (and reportedly has been saying for months): “The federal government’s work on preparing the second pillar involves complex technical and legal questions and requires coordination among the relevant ministries. This coordination has not yet been finalized.”

Ates Gürpinar, spokesperson for the Left Party in the Bundestag for drug policy, told LTO that he “no longer expects the second pillar law to be passed by the end of this legislative term.”

With suggestions from Mr. Lauterbach that the bill would be submitted to the EC for analysis in advance—a process that typically takes months—and the leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), Friedrich Merz, declaring his intention to roll back cannabis legalization if his party wins the next federal elections, time seems to be running out for the bill.

Support From the German States

Earlier this month, the city of Wiesbaden announced its intention to participate in a national pilot project to test the sale of cannabis in pharmacies.

Health Minister Milena Löbcke signed a declaration of intent to support this initiative, emphasizing the importance of establishing a legal sales system to counter the black market and strengthen youth and health protection. The project, which involves collaboration with the association “Cannabis Research Germany,” will be scientifically supervised by the Interdisciplinary Addiction Research Center in Hamburg.

Wiesbaden will focus on experimenting with the sale of cannabis in pharmacies as part of a broader initiative involving up to 25 cities in Germany. To prepare for the project, the city is setting up a “Cannabis Coordination Office” and has already garnered interest from several major pharmacies. However, the program will be governed by strict rules.

In May 2024, a study by the German press publisher Die Welt suggested that at least 11 German cities were considering becoming model regions for the second pillar, 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 that they have no interest in participating as model regions in the second pillar pilot projects.

The research proposal is expected to be submitted to the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture in October.

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(Featured image by Ansgar Scheffold via Unsplash)

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