Cannabis Shops Could Launch This Year In Germany For ‘Scientific Purposes,’ Here’s Why UK’s Medical Marijuana Sales Are Soaring
Over the last several years, Europe has become more open-minded about medical and recreational marijuana. Here are some of the latest cannabis developments from the United Kingdom and Germany.
Germany: Cannabis Shops Might Open This Year
The German government is working on the second pillar of its cannabis legalization law – setting up municipal five-year pilot programs for state-controlled marijuana to be sold in licensed shops.
Marijuana became legal in Germany on April 1st, making it the third country in the European Union to legalize adult-use cannabis after Malta and Luxembourg. Under this first pillar of cannabis legalization, adults over 18 can legally possess up to 25 grams of dried cannabis flower and cultivate up to three marijuana plants at home.
The Ministry of Agriculture has come up with plans to set up cannabis shops, according to Spiegel, and reported by T-online. Per the report, there is a draft regulation that is circulating in cannabis association circles and it is focused on setting up the responsibilities for the “permission and monitoring of the use of cannabis for scientific purposes.”
Expat Info reports that the new regulations have named Germany’s Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BLE) as the responsible body to authorize the handling of cannabis for scientific purposes.
The idea under the second pillar is to set up cannabis shops as scientific projects, meaning cannabis sales will be scientifically examined assessing its effects on youth and health protection as well as the black market.
“We are hopeful that a practical way will be created to legally sell cannabis products in Germany – at least in some scientific projects,” Jürgen Neumeyer from the Cannabis Industry Association told Spiegel.
The news comes about a week after marijuana advocates and enthusiasts met in cities across the world to celebrate the Global Marijuana March, among …