Düsseldorf Will Be Venue for Legal Marijuana Laboratory in Germany (and Berlin Will Come behind It)

In the federal state of Bremen, a few months ago, social democrats and the Green Party agreed that the possession and consumption of marijuana would no longer be penalised. It was the first step towards a green revolution in Germany, where three million people state that they regularly smoke cannabis, and where marijuana lovers support cannabis legalisation, spurred on by its regulation in some US states.

The authorities in Düsseldorf, the capital of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, have decided to push forward regulation: the Social Democratic Party (SPD), Liberal Democratic Party (FDP) and the Greens, have agreed to continue with a plan to regulate the sale of legal cannabis to people who are legally of age. In turn, councillors from the Christian Democratic Union, the party led by Angela Merkel, have opposed passing this pilot project.

Angela Hebeler and Norbert Czerwinski, councillors for Alliance ‘90/The Greens, explained the thinking behind the plan on their blog: to eliminate the marijuana black market by setting up a controlled market. “The number of cannabis users has decreased drastically following depenalisation in places such as Portugal and the Netherlands", stated the councillors.

Düsseldorf will thus follow the plans of the Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg district in Berlin that became the first local authority in Germany to request a cannabis license just a few months ago. The mayor of that district, Monika Hermann, has wanted to open cannabis coffee shops for some time now, as she argues that the legal sale of cannabis can reduce crime and provide greater control over sales to minors.

Nevertheless, it is now up to the Federal Institute of Medicines and Sanitary Products to decide whether to grant the licenses to Düsseldorf and the Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg district in Berlin so that Germany can get on the road towards legalisation.