{"id":55947,"date":"2022-07-18T08:28:23","date_gmt":"2022-07-18T16:28:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/2022\/07\/18\/germany-luxembourg-malta-and-the-netherlands-discuss-marijuana-legalization-at-historic-joint-meeting\/"},"modified":"2022-07-18T08:45:30","modified_gmt":"2022-07-18T16:45:30","slug":"germany-luxembourg-malta-and-the-netherlands-discuss-marijuana-legalization-at-historic-joint-meeting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/2022\/07\/18\/germany-luxembourg-malta-and-the-netherlands-discuss-marijuana-legalization-at-historic-joint-meeting\/","title":{"rendered":"Germany, Luxembourg, Malta And The Netherlands Discuss Marijuana Legalization At Historic Joint Meeting"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Top officials from Germany, Luxembourg, Malta and the Netherlands held a historic meeting last week to discuss plans and challenges associated with recreational marijuana legalization as a growing number of nations across Europe pursue reform.<\/p>\n

This is the first in what\u2019s expected to be a series of multilateral discussions, which may well be expanded out to include other countries in the European Union and elsewhere. Advocates say the meeting of the regional neighbors could prove critical, both as a means of coordinating future cannabis regulations and addressing any resistance from the United Nations (UN), which currently bars member states from legalizing marijuana.<\/p>\n

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This week’s Luxembourg meeting is historic<\/p>\n

While these issues have already been discussed informally in various high level forums, this is the 1st EVER dedicated ministerial level multilateral meeting on non-medical cannabis regulation<\/p>\n

It shows how far reform has progressed
3\/<\/p>\n

\u2014 Steve Rolles \"🇺🇦\" (@SteveTransform) July 16, 2022<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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No decisions were made at the initial summit, but the officials from Germany, Luxembourg and Malta released a joint statement afterwards outlining mutual areas of interest and asserting that they have a \u201ccommon understanding\u201d that \u201cthe status quo is not a tenable option,\u201d which means countries must review the data and consider paths forward for cannabis regulation.<\/p>\n

\u201cA structured multilateral exchange on the vast spectrum of cannabis related issues contributes to sharing knowledge, best practices and experiences and foster finding solutions,\u201d the statement<\/a> says. \u201cThis first structured multilateral exchange is meant to facilitate further consultations regarding regulations of cannabis for non-medical and non-scientific uses.\u201d<\/p>\n

The regional discussions are necessary for a number of reasons, the countries said, including the ongoing public health risks posed by the illicit market and law enforcement challenges in distinguishing between different forms of cannabis.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is a need to re-assess our policies on cannabis and to take into account recent developments in this area, to further strengthen and develop health and social responses, such as prevention programs, treatment and harm reduction interventions and to find new approaches beyond prohibition based drug policies,\u201d the statement says.<\/p>\n

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.@SamTanson<\/a> a @LenertPaulette<\/a> haten en Echange iwwer d’Reglement\u00e9ierung vun net medezineschem\u00a0Cannabis mat Experten aus D\u00e4itschland, Holland a Malta. “T’ass Z\u00e4it fir eng nei Approche, dofir brauche mir den Dialog mat L\u00e4nner an Institutiounen d\u00e9i en \u00e4hnleche Constat gemaach hunn” pic.twitter.com\/bUcRdDl0QI<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Minist\u00e8re de la Justice (@MinJus_Lu) July 15, 2022<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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In a separate statement, Luxembourg Minister of Justice Sam Tanson said that \u201calmost half a century after the entry into force of our law establishing the criminalization of drug-related behavior\u2026Luxembourg still pursues a drug policy focused primarily on repression.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHowever, as our statistics show, the failure of this approach cannot be denied, and the time has come to develop a new approach, based on dialogue with the States which have made the same observation and the European and international institutions,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Luxembourg Deputy Prime Minister Paulette Lenert also commented on the meeting, stating that she is \u201cconvinced that a paradigm shift is needed in cannabis policy, which must be based on the primary responsibility of adopting a coherent, balanced and evidence, aimed at achieving the most beneficial outcome for society.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe adoption of these new public policies, emphasizing the prevention and reduction of risks and harms through regulation rather than repression and measures coercive, poses new challenges for us at international and European level, which we have addressed constructively during our consultation,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

The Netherlands did not sign the joint statement, but Tanson said that all of the countries who attended the meeting \u201cagree that the status quo is not an option\u201d and that they \u201cneed a new structured and multilateral drug policy.\u201d<\/p>\n

While Germany, Luxembourg and Malta have separately pursued plans to legalize and regulate cannabis in recent years, the Netherlands has a more complicated history of marijuana policy, with a long-standing grey market that some policymakers have pushed back against.<\/p>\n

Also present at the meeting in Luxembourg were representatives of the Czech Republic\u2019s Presidency of the Council of the European Union, according<\/a> to Le Quotidien.<\/p>\n

Of the four countries directly involved in the discussion, only Malta so far has enacted legalization, with the president signing a reform bill in December<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Under the legislation, adults 18 and older will be allowed to possess up to seven grams of cannabis and cultivate as many as four plants for personal use. Up to 50 grams of homegrown marijuana can be stored at home. However, the law does not currently provide for a commercial cannabis market, per se; instead, non-profit cooperatives will be able to cultivate marijuana and distribute it to members.<\/p>\n

Also late last year, Luxembourg\u2019s Ministries of Justice and Homeland Security released a cannabis legalization proposal<\/a> that would allow for the possession and limited cultivation of marijuana for personal use by adults 18 and older. It still requires a vote in the Parliament but is expected to pass.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, in Germany, officials took a first step toward legalization last month<\/a>, kicking off a series of hearings meant to help inform legislation to end prohibition in the country.<\/p>\n

Leaders of the coalition government said last year that they had\u00a0reached an agreement to end cannabis prohibition<\/a>\u00a0and enact regulations for a legal industry, and they\u00a0previewed certain details of that plan<\/a> earlier this year. Now the wheels are in motion to craft the specifics of actual legalization legislation.<\/p>\n

A first-of-its-kind international survey that was released in April found majority support for legalization<\/a> in several key European countries, including Germany.<\/p>\n

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Biden\u2019s Nominee For Key Federal Court Worked To Legalize Marijuana In Arizona, Prompting Ted Cruz Criticism<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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Photo courtesy of Mike Latimer.<\/em><\/p>\n

The post Germany, Luxembourg, Malta And The Netherlands Discuss Marijuana Legalization At Historic Joint Meeting<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n


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Top officials from Germany, Luxembourg, Malta and the Netherlands held a historic meeting last week to discuss plans and challenges associated with recreational marijuana legalization as a growing number of nations across Europe pursue reform. This is the first in what\u2019s expected to be a series of multilateral discussions, whichContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":458,"featured_media":55948,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[18,81],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55947"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/458"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=55947"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55947\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":55949,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55947\/revisions\/55949"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/55948"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=55947"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=55947"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=55947"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}