Germany moves closer to Maltese cannabis model

Malta’s cannabis regularisation model is becoming somewhat of a gold standard for EU member states adopting a more socially liberal approach to cannabis consumption.

In a clear sign of convergence towards the ‘Malta model’, Germany ditched outright legalisation last week and announced plans for cannabis use regulations which are remarkably like Malta’s.

Like Malta, Germany will only allow the sale of cannabis from non-profit cannabis clubs that can enrol up to 500 members, from which members will be allowed to buy a maximum 50g a month.

Germany will also not allow smoking in the clubs and will ban advertising of the drug – both conditions are also found in Malta. Both countries will also allow users to grow a limited number of plants at home.

This convergence between Malta and reform minded EU countries like Germany is confirmed by a scheduled high-Level ministerial meeting in July which will see representatives from Malta, Germany, Luxembourg and Czech Republic discussing their approach to cannabis regulation based on a harm reduction approach.

One of the aims of the meeting is for Malta to share best practices and experiences with like-minded countries “in an effort to change mindsets and challenge the stigma surrounding cannabis”, Reforms Parliamentary Secretary Rebecca Buttigieg told MaltaToday.

“The fact that one of the largest EU member states is now at an advanced stage of introducing a reform based on Malta’s benchmark legislation confirms the right direction we have taken in this courageous change which reflects government’s resolve towards social justice,” the parliamentary secretary said.

Underpinning the new approach to cannabis policy on which different European governments are converging is the understanding that subjecting persons, especially youths, to criminal proceedings cannot be the way forward in tackling the reality of personal use.

Buttigieg attributes the appeal of Maltese legislation to the “modern and reassuring model based on serious and non-profit procedures, instead of one that is centred on commercial interests”.

While insisting that the government is not “promoting the actual use of cannabis” and its priority remains that of “protecting society and adolescents” it is determined “to deliver safe and regularized means for controlled and secure access to cannabis” while also “effectively fighting the black market”, Buttigieg said.

Convergence between Germany and Malta

Cannabis legalisation is one of the flagships of the ruling traffic light coalition in Germany which includes Socialists, Liberals and Greens.

But in face of resistance from other EU governments, particularly France, which makes a go ahead from the European Commission for full legalisation of cannabis unlikely, Germany has postponed its plans to fully allow the sale of the drug from private outlets as happens in Canada.

Instead, Germany is now opting for a model pioneered by Malta which limits the sale of the drug from non-profit cannabis social clubs whose membership as in Malta is being capped to 500 members.   

Consumers in Germany will also be allowed to grow up to three cannabis plants at home.

While Malta is more liberal with regards to home growing allowing users to grow up to four plants, Germany is being more liberal on the amounts sold from cannabis clubs in a single day.

While in Malta club members will be allowed to buy 7g of cannabis in a 24-hour period, in Germany members aged 21 or above will be able to legally obtain up to 25g of cannabis in a day. But in both countries the amount bought over a month is limited to 50g.

One major difference between the two countries is that Germany intends to have a separate regime for consumers aged between 18 and 21, limiting their monthly allowance to 30g. Germany also intends to impose a limit on THC (tetrahydrocannabinol, a psychoactive substance in cannabis) for under 21-year-olds.

As in Malta, the German law will ban the advertising of the drug, and its consumption on the clubs’ premises will be forbidden in both countries.

However, unlike Malta, Germany still intends to proceed to a second phase allowing several cities and municipalities across Germany to license “specialist shops” to sell recreational cannabis as part of a pilot programme similar to those in some US states and Canada.

The change in the German approach to cannabis regulations was announced by German health minister Karl Lauterbach following months-long discussions with the European Commission on the feasibility of Germany’s original plan to fully legalise cannabis

After talking to the Commission, “we came to the conclusion that the draft [legalization plan] at that time would not take us any further in pursuing our goals,” said Lauterbach at a press conference in Berlin.

Lauterbach described home cultivation and cannabis clubs as the first of two pillars in Germany’s push to liberalise its laws, with the second pillar remaining full scale legalisation.

“Our goal with pillar one is that we don’t have to notify Brussels,” German agricultural minister Cem Özdemir said.    

Plans to legalise cannabis in Luxembourg hit a stumbling block in March after the country’s state council issued a legal opinion that the proposed law is not in conformity with UN treaties signed by the country.  But the same council also decreed that the law as proposed is in conformity with EU law, given the country would not completely legalise cannabis but allow it to be consumed at home under strict conditions.

The current coalition government in Luxembourg was elected on a pledge to move towards the legalisation of cannabis. But the bill originally proposed in 2021 only went as far as decriminalising limited possession of cannabis and authorising the cultivation of four plants at home. The ruling coalition, which is now considering further amendments, has pledged to put the bill to a vote in parliament prior to October’s elections.

In an interview with RTL, Luxembourg health Minister Paulette Lenert confirmed the government was consulting other EU member states on the matter and welcomed the decision of the German government to scale back its plans for full legalisation in favour of distribution from cannabis clubs.

Another country set on cannabis reform is the Czech Republic whose government had tasked drug commissioner Jindřich Vobořil to draft a law to legalize adult-use cannabis. In a facebook post last year, Vobořil indicated that Czech officials are in contact with the German government to coordinate and consult with one another on the reform plans.