If you are curious to know about cannabis in the European countries, Germany has a fascinating ground for cannabis with its complicated law and lenient approach. If you are a cannabis connoisseur and wish to buy marijuana seeds in Germany, this is the spot!
Though cannabis is technically not permitted in Germany, it is far advanced of the curve compared to most European nations. Germany has an exciting history when it comes to the trade, study, and production of medicinal marijuana and other products.
It is illegal to use marijuana in Germany, though the police tolerate small amounts for individual use. Some legislators are forcing for complete decriminalisation, though surprisingly, most of the general public is not in favour of it.
However, the medicinal marijuana market of the country is growing, and domestic therapeutic marijuana should be harvested by 2025.
Let’s understand the footsteps of cannabis in the history of Germany!
Marijuana History in Germany
Contents
Just like any other European nation, marijuana goes back a long trail in Germany.
Archaeological excavations in Eisenberg, Thuringia (central Germany) note that marijuana was present at least 7,500 years ago. They found weed seeds in cave dwellings, suggesting that these early people may have used them in domestic life.
Another dig in Wilmersdorf (now part of Berlin) revealed cannabis seeds in a funerary urn, dating back 2,500 years.
There is plenty of proof suggesting that it played a vital part in rural German life after this. 12th-century writings, composed by the Benedictine abbess Hildegard von Bingen, declare that marijuana “reduces the bad fluids and reinforces the strong ones” and that the specialist can use it to heal headaches. Many people respected her research, although the Catholic Church was against the use of the drug.
By the 1400s, the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes was well-established. Although the Inquisition attempted to stamp out the use of conventional herbalism, its use continued in Germany.
This is mostly thanks to the medieval academies, who went to great effort to preserve the historical practices of the country. During this time, cannabis oil was popular. People used it to heal inflammation, coughs, parasitical contaminations, gonorrhea, etc.
The trading excursions to Africa and Asia in around the 1500s were also important. Sailors returned with ‘Indian Hemp’; much more potent strains of marijuana.
These, too, were included in medical practice, but their usage wouldn’t become popular until the mid-1800s.
Cannabis never really fade away in Germany. It resumed being considered as a medicine, edible product, and conventional plant right until the 20th century when prohibition started to take grasp.
Let’s see how the laws are in the current scenario in Germany!
Cannabis Legalization in Germany
As of December 2019, Germany served the world’s third-largest market for legal marijuana-based products outside of North America since the country led to legalizing the prescribing of marijuana for medical purposes to critically ill patients in 2017.
The European Medical Cannabis Association (EUMCA) has intimated that Europe may look to Germany as it flows towards Europe-wide harmonization of marijuana laws: a process started by the European Commission in 2019.
As Europe’s largest market, and with a marijuana business forecasted to grow to $8.6bn by 2028 with harmonized EU enactment, Germany is leading the way for European marijuana legislation.
A survey discovered that the majority of individuals in Germany were corresponding decriminalizing of weed for recreational objectives.
70% of the women asked did not support its legalization, in comparison to just 56% of men. Older people were less in support of continued prohibition, with 72% of people over the age of 60 votings against. For those under 30, just 43% were in support of the legislation.
Possession and Consumption of Cannabis in Germany
It is illegal to possess marijuana in Germany, following the German Federal Narcotics Act (Betäubungsmittelgesetz). Technically, if the police find you with any drugs, they penalize the offender for up to five years in jail.
Although It is not an offense to use marijuana. The legislation allows a range of options to prosecution if the authorities find the offender with small amounts of marijuana for personal usage. These choices are judged based on the followings:
- The involvement of other people
- The offender’s background
- Whether or not the society would profit from the offender’s prosecution
In most circumstances, German courts adopt a ‘therapy before trial’ way; and often delay or cancel prison orders if the offender accepts to get the treatment.
Having said all these things, the main question arrives that:
What is a ‘small amount’ of cannabis?
The Federal Constitutional Court emphasized the uncertainty surrounding the phrase ‘small amount’ in 1994. At that time, all the German regions had different understandings of what a ‘small amount’ was.
The Federal Court of Justice concluded that determining whether an amount of cannabis was small or not, the volume and potency should be taken into consideration, not the weight.
So, for instance, a ‘small amount’ of cannabis might have 7.5 grams of THC (the element accountable for the ‘high’) or less. It should be observed that some German federal states are more receptive than others about the limited personal usage of cannabis.
In those circumstances, the person must be able to confirm that cannabis was solely for private usage and he or she wasn’t going to trade or supply it to others.
The quantity that forms ‘for private use’ differs from state to state – from six grams in most places to 15 grams in Berlin.
Although the authority allows small quantities of marijuana for private consumption, numbers of cannabis-related charges are increasing.
They can charge any person if he or she has marijuana, and it is then considered as a criminal case. Prosecutors may withdraw this and can issue a fine instead.
Even after they close the case, the charge resides on the offender’s record for many years. Sometimes they even register it on the person’s driving license, too, even if they hadn’t been using marijuana while in a vehicle.
In 2017, there were 209,204 police inquiries into pot usage. These figures were considerably higher than the prior year. The charges counted for 3.9% of all reported offenses, one of the most common grounds for inquiry.
A new Policy for Offenders?
It has become an issue that hasn’t gone unseen. Politician Marlene Mortler (Christian Social Union) offered a new policy instead, giving offenders the option of either paying a fine or getting help from specialists.
However, with some nations in Europe and other parts of the globe decriminalising the personal usage of cannabis only, there’s a chance that Germany may follow series.
Medical Marijuana in Germany
Germany launched a new law in 2017, allowing the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes. Since then, it has developed to be the biggest therapeutic marijuana market in Europe.
Initially, the authority only received requests from around 1,000 patients. By November 2018, this had increased to 40,000!
This makes the medicinal marijuana program of Germany one of the strongest in the continent. At present, around two-thirds of health insurance firms cover the cost of cases that have been prescribed medicinal marijuana.
However, the circumstance is set to change as the nation moves ahead with expanding its domestic industry. The first harvest of medicinal cannabis in Germany is expected to be at the end of 2025.
At present, Germany has three medicinal marijuana products accessible to patients. These are Sativex, Dronabinol, and Nabilone. However, they are all high priced, suggesting that some patients can’t afford them (unless their health insurance includes them).
However, sufferers can find it hard to get a prescription for therapeutic cannabis. Medical practitioners are cautious of issuing prescriptions, as they’re skeptical about cannabis’s healing effects, or still think there’s a regulation connected with using it.
The patients also face substantial obstacles when seeking permission from health insurance companies.
CBD Products
It is legally allowed to use, buy, and sell CBD (as long as it contains less than 0.2% THC) under EU law. However, be assured that there are some uncertainties in the law. It’s legal to buy a CBD product from a store, but other sorts of low THC cannabis-products may not be.
Can you Cultivate Cannabis in Germany?
It’s not allowed to grow cannabis in Germany, and offenders get the same punishments as for sale or supply. Despite this, the German government has recognised the profit-making potential of producing cannabis domestically.
At the beginning of 2019, an official press release said that 79 bidders had offered tenders for growing medicinal marijuana in the country, with the final agreement as to get an award at some point later in the year.
Is Buying and Selling Marijuana in Germany Legal?
The sale and supply of marijuana in Germany is considered a more serious offense. If found, the offender could get a jail sentence of up to five years following the Narcotics Act.
The punishment scale is raised by one to two, or five to 15 years if there are other aggravating events. For instance, if…
- The offender has supplied weed to youths
- The involvement of teens in the trade
- The offender was trying to sell large amounts of marijuana
- The person was working as part of a gang
- The police find weapons
CannaCulture in Germany
About four million Germans are frequent marijuana users, either as a prescribed or unauthorized treatment for medicinal purposes or recreational usage.
Berlin, the capital of the nation, hosts a yearly ‘Hanfparade’ (hemp parade), a demonstration asking for the full legalization of hemp; the city is also home to the Hanfmuseum (hemp museum), the only cannabis-focused museum in Germany. The significant cannabis-related events in Germany areas the following:
The Hanfparade (Hemp Parade)
The purpose of this parade is to make the hemp plant appreciated and interesting again in the full scope of its usefulness and to conquer prejudices and stigmatizations.
It happens each year in Berlin since 1997. More than 8,900 people attended the last hemp parade on August 8, 2020.
Due to the corona pandemic and the associated limitations on the right of assembly, the 2020 Hanfparade did not take place on the road for the first time in its history.
Watch this video to know more about the parade!
Global Marijuana March
Over the ages, various organizers in Berlin had picked up the mark and launched different kinds of displays. From really big with a parade truck and stage to mini demos, everything has already been done.
Cannabis – A Disputed Topic in the Parliament
Starting cannabis shops would reduce this risk and restrict minors from purchasing cannabis.
With consumption on the advance and the law enforcement of Germany required for more critical security issues, legislators favouring decriminalisation are aiming at marijuana prohibition once again.
The neoliberal FDP joined forces in February with both the Green Party and the Left Party to pay attention to what it states is an antiquated and hard stance toward cannabis.
Pointing to the public use of the drug — by at least 4 million Germans states the FDP — the trio wants the administration to legalise marijuana regulation for individual consumption.
This, they state, would protect grown-up users from a product combined with other toxic chemicals.
They also claim that purchasing weed on the black market not only discredits ordinary civilians — blocking them from seeking aid if they want it — but also raises the odds that they will acquire harder drugs.
The trade union representing the criminologists of Germany has repeated these proposals, calling the current law as “neither intelligent nor constructive.”
Angela Merkel’s CDU and its Bavarian sister party, the CSU, remain stark antagonists of legalizing, as does the far-right populist AfD. The only party still on the net is the center-left Social Democrats, who have revealed openness to new approaches.
Summing Up
Germany shows different attitudes toward marijuana and the policies related to it. On the one hand, many politicians, scientists, and people support decriminalising recreational usage.
However, the leading legislative party (the Christian Democratic Union), and several people across the nation, are against making marijuana legal.
At the time of writing this, it is possible that the Green Party will perform a vital role in the next government. This is based on their recent poll results, which reveal that public opinion of their policies is high.
If that is the scenario, there is a chance that their Cannabis Control Act may be passed, which would decriminalise recreational marijuana use completely.
