German lawmakers have postponed the initial consideration of a bill to legalize marijuana until at least next week due to the global attention on the ongoing conflict in Israel. The delay is attributed to what they call the “global political situation.” Nevertheless, there’s a revised schedule in place to ensure that Germany remains on track to enact the first part of its legal cannabis plan by early next year.
The Bundestag, Germany’s federal parliament, was originally set to discuss cannabis reform legislation for a first reading on a Friday, but this has been rescheduled to next week. The delay is attributed to international concerns.
If the bill isn’t passed by December 15, the broader legislative schedule for cannabis reform could be in jeopardy, with legalization pushed to at least February 2024. However, Kristine Lütke of the Free Democratic Party provided a revised schedule that still aims to enact the reform at the beginning of the following year. According to this plan, the first reading will take place next week, followed by committee discussions on November 6 and the final reading on November 16.
This move comes after opponents of the reform bill failed to gather enough support to block it in the Bundesrat, the legislative body representing individual states, last month.
The bill, spearheaded by Health Minister Karl Lauterbach, allows adults to legally possess cannabis and cultivate up to three plants for personal use. It also proposes creating social clubs that can distribute marijuana to members, with purchase limits for adults over 21 and those between 18 and 21.
Officials are also planning to introduce a complementary second measure for pilot programs in select cities to study the impact of commercial cannabis sales. Localities would need to opt in to allow these stores to operate.
, an independent military force, and allied militias in Sudan raped several dozen women and girls in West Darfur’s capital, El Geneina, and those fleeing to Chad between late April and late June 2023, Human Rights Watch said today. The assailants appear to have targeted people because of their Massalit ethnicity and, in some cases, because they were known activists.){kind=link}