Germany announces plan to legalise cannabis for recreational use 

Germany plans to legalise the possession of small amounts of cannabis for recreational use as well as its sale and production. 

Health minister Karl Lauterbach said that, under a proposal agreed today by the cabinet, possession of up to 1oz of the substance will become legal.

Adults will also be allowed to buy cannabis from licenced premises, with Mr Lauterbach saying the market will be tightly regulated.

Germany plans to allow adults to possess up to 1oz of cannabis for recreational use, as well as licensing vendors to sell and produce the drug (file image)

A question mark remains over whether the plan will go ahead because the government first wants to be sure that it is compatible with European Union law.

If Brussels gives the thumbs up then the plan will go ahead, Mr Lauterbach said.

While the exact plan agreed today has not been laid out, leaked documents last week suggested people would be allowed to grow their own cannabis at home but would be limited to two plants.

Marijuana sold in stores would be limited to a THC content of no more than 15 per cent, with a 10 per cent cap on those aged 18 to 21. 

Any cannabis sold in Germany would have to be grown in Germany, the leaked plans said, with imports to be banned.

Marketing and advertising cannabis products would also be illegal, with dispensaries forced to locate themselves far from schools, children’s facilities or youth clubs. 

Karl Lauterbach, the German health minister, said the plan is designed to combat black market sales but must first be approved by EU court

Legalising controlled sales of cannabis is one of a series of reforms outlined in last year’s coalition deal between the three socially liberal parties that make up Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s government.

They said the plan would ensure quality control while also protecting young people, and agreed that the ‘social effects’ of the new legislation would be examined after four years.

Among other liberalising plans, the government has removed from Germany’s criminal code a ban on doctors ‘advertising’ abortion services.

It also wants to ease the path to German citizenship, lift restrictions on dual citizenship, and reduce the minimum age for voting in national and European elections from 18 to 16.

The government also wants to scrap 40-year-old legislation that requires transsexual people to get a psychological assessment and a court decision before officially changing gender, a process that often involves intimate questions. 

It is due to be replaced with a new ‘self-determination law’.