News portals have been circulating in recent days about the announcement of cannabis legalization in Luxembourg. However, no one mentioned that the authorities of this small country in mid-2019 announced that they would legalize both trade, possession and cultivation of cannabis within two years. The plan for full legalization was abandoned, however, and the revised regulations allow the cultivation of up to four plants in one's own home and possession of up to three grams of weed outside the home. A person in possession of more than that, however - will be treated as a dealer. Here's more information.
Luxembourg is backtracking on its initial announcements to legalize marijuana. Changes will be made, but not as announced
We reported that Luxembourg is planning to legalize the production, trade and possession of marijuana more than two years ago. Originally, Luxembourg authorities announced that the legalization plan would be implemented within five years. You'll read about it in our article T U T A J.
Moments later, the Luxembourg government announced that full legalization of recreational marijuana was a matter of not five, but two years. We wrote about this in T U T A J.
Here's what changes, among others, were planned:
Possession and cultivation in the Grand Duchy
According to Schneider and Braz's plans, consumption and possession of up to 30 grams of marijuana should be allowed for adults. For the time being, it is unclear how subsistence cultivation will be regulated. The new regulations stipulate that youths between the ages of 12 and 17 should not be punished for possession of up to five grams of marijuana. Pedagogical programs are to be established for minors arrested for marijuana possession to educate and warn of the dangers of marijuana use at such a young age.
Trade
Legal marijuana trafficking will be subject to strict regulations, the details of which have yet to be announced. The government suggests that there should be an upper limit on the THC content of dried or THC products. This is to prevent risks to the psyche of consumers. The Grand Duchy's authorities also want to introduce a regulation according to which marijuana can be sold only to Luxembourg citizens. The reason for the decision on the restriction is said to be objections from the German and French authorities.
However, these plans have been heavily truncated.
Justice Minister Samantha Tanson describes the currently planned amendment to the law as a first step.
We think we have to act, we have a drug problem, and cannabis is the drug that is most used and makes up a large part of the illegal market, she
- she said.
We want to start by allowing people to grow cannabis at home. The idea is that the consumer is then not in an illegal situation when they consume cannabis, and that they don't support the whole illegal chain, from production to transport to sale, with a lot of misery involved. We want to do everything we can to move further and further away from the illegal black market
-added Tanson
The Luxembourg government maintains that this is the first step toward a more fundamental change in the state's cannabis handling laws, which aims to keep users away from the illegal market.
Authorities continue to say that a system of state-regulated production and distribution is planned to ensure the quality of the product. Revenue from the cannabis market would be invested "mainly in prevention, education and health care for a wide range of addictions," according to government sources.
