Germany’s Federal State of Bremen Will Decriminalise Cannabis Possession

Cannabis lovers are feeling winds of change in Germany. Almost three million people regularly smoke marijuana in the country, with activists, politicians and lawyers now calling for its legalisation: in 2013 a group of 122 Criminal Law professors gathered at the University of Bremen to voice their support.

Today it was in the federal state of Bremen that Social Democrats and the Greens, as part of their negotiations to form a coalition that continues to govern the region after the May elections, reached an agreement by which cannabis possession and consumption will no longer be prosecuted. “We have agreed that the use of marijuana will not be prosecuted, insofar as the legal framework in Bremen permits this,” explained Henrike Müller, president of the Greens in this state.

The agreement includes a pilot project for local marijuana dispensaries, according to Müller: “We believe that we are contributing to the protection of minors, as only adults are permitted to possess cannabis, and consumers will no longer have to buy on the black market.

For the time being they do not foresee sales at kiosks, but are considering the option of using pharmacies as points of distribution. Another possibility is for there to be sales establishments in Bremen and Bremerhaven (the other locality forming the state, Germany’s smallest).

The negotiations between Social Democrats and the Greens also include a possible exchange agreement with Berlin, a city where Monika Herrmann, mayor of the district of Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg, has been wanting to open “coffee shops” for some time. The measure, however, must be approved by the Federal Institute of Medications and Health Products in Bonn.