Last month, a historic conference on legalization at the European level took place with the participation of Germany, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and Malta. The event concluded with a joint statement indicating that we may soon witness the much-awaited cannabis revolution at the European level. Among other things, the conference debated how to solve the problem of top-down UN regulations on the matter. Here is more information.
Historic legalization conference with Germany, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and Malta concludes with joint statement
The legalization of recreational marijuana at the European level is for the moment a very near future. We are at the stage that the question is no longer "when?" but "how the legalization of marijuana in Europe will be carried out." A few days after the discussed conference in Berlin, the largest cannabis conference in the world took place, i.e. ICBC Berlin 2022 (coverage of this event will soon be on our portal), during which the German Drug Commissioner said that the time has come when it is necessary to consider how to carry out legalization wisely so that there is no need for amendments, not whether it is possible at all.
It was the U.S. that started the process of global prohibition, the main drivers of which were the desire for profit and political issues, and it is from the U.S. that the global trend of legalizing marijuana will begin, I repeat for many years. Now we can see that this process has begun and we can already say that it is in a fairly advanced stage. A wave of legalization has been sweeping through the United States for years, so it was certain that the EU would also look more favorably on cannabis, or rather, on the revenue that this market can provide when it is legalized. Because you probably don't think it's about any well-being of citizens or understanding their mistakes and bad decisions that have destroyed the lives of millions of people around the world. No, it's about money, of course, and the fact that this market is capable of generating such massive revenues for the treasury that as some countries open it up fueling their economies, others will do the same not wanting to fall behind economically.
Changes on our continent have been evident for more than two years. The conference was attended by representatives from countries that have been announcing sizable changes to their recreational marijuana laws for some time. Luxembourg initially 3 years ago announced full legalization within a few years, then it was reported that the deadline had been accelerated, only to finally announce last October that legalization yes there would be, but initially only cultivation and possession. You will read about it T U T A J.
Malta, another country attending the conference, recently legalized the cultivation and possession of marijuana on its territory. The president signed the bill into law last December. how cannabis laws currently look in Malta you will read T U T A J.
And then, of course, there's our western neighbor Germany, which from what it looks like will be the first country with full legalization of possession, production and distribution of recreational marijuana in Europe. For more on these issues, read T U T A J.
Germany, Malta, Luxembourg - joint statement on legalization of recreational marijuana
The conference culminated with the signing of a statement that, in a way, suggests which way changes in marijuana laws should go.
"We, the Ministers or High Representatives of the Ministers responsible for Drugs of the national governments of Germany, Luxembourg and Malta, met in Luxembourg on July 15, 2022, for the first high-level ministerial consultation to discuss various
aspects of the regulation of cannabis for non-medical and non-scientific uses."
-reads the introduction of the statement, which, of the countries present at the conference, only the Netherlands did not sign, but assured support for cannabis law reforms
The statement reads, among other things:
"Cannabis, which is derived from the flowers of the Cannabis sativa plant, is by far the most widely used illicit drug in Europe and the world, and the most frequently mentioned in drug crime reports in Europe."
"The average concentration of the main psychoactive ingredient in cannabis, delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), in illegal cannabis products sold on illicit markets has also been steadily increasing in recent years. Illegal cannabis products with high THC and low cannabidiol (CBD) content are increasingly common in illegal markets, these products are more potent in terms of psychoactive effects and associated health risks, as well as harm to the individual and society."
"The quality of illegal cannabis products found on illicit markets is increasingly linked to health risks as the list of potentially harmful admixtures added grows."
"New psychoactive substances (NPS) such as synthetic cannabinoids continue to proliferate and appear to be increasingly used to adulterate low-THC cannabis (e.g. fiber cannabis) sprayed with synthetic cannabinoids and sold to illegal markets as regular high-THC cannabis, greatly increasing the potential risks and harms associated with its use by often unwitting users, as synthetic cannabinoids are generally much more potent than their natural counterparts, and their short- and long-term adverse effects on humans are still widely unknown; whereas fatalities associated with the use of the latter are regularly reported."
"It is impossible to control the quality and potency of cannabis products unless they are regulated and controlled by public authorities guided by public health goals."
"In terms of enforcement, it has become even more difficult to enforce existing cannabis laws and regulations, as it is not easy to distinguish between "regular" cannabis and cannabis products containing synthetic cannabinoids and even CBD, or low-THC cannabis, without lengthy and costly toxicological analysis and enforcement procedures."
"There is a need to re-evaluate our cannabis policies and take into account recent developments in the field to further strengthen and develop health and social responses, such as prevention programs, treatment and harm reduction interventions, and finding new approaches beyond prohibition-based drug policies."
For the entire statement, see T U T A J
Is this historic legalization conference the first sign of Europe getting on the legalization track? There are many indications that it is.
