Germany has officially passed a bill making the use of cannabis in the country legal, under certain conditions.
Smoking cannabis in many public spaces will become legal from 1 April, though places near schools and sports grounds will be among those where it is still illegal, while out and about in public it will be legal to possess up to 25g of the drug.
Germans will also be allowed to grow up to three cannabis plants of their own, but buying the drug from elsewhere will be heavily restricted.
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Residents who are aged 18 or over will from 1 July onwards be able to join non-profit 'cannabis clubs', though the clubs can only have a maximum of 500 members each.
The clubs will be allowed to grow cannabis plants for their members to consume, with members being able to buy a maximum of 25g of cannabis from their club in a day and at most 50g a month.
In essence Germans will legally be allowed to possess quite a lot of cannabis, but acquiring it will not be an easy thing.
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Only German residents aged 18 or over would be allowed to join a club, and a person would only be allowed to be a member of one cannabis club at a time.
This plan today (23 February) passed through the Bundestag, the lower house of the German parliament (like the UK's House of Commons) by 407 votes to 226, with right-wing politicians opposing the change.
Health minister Karl Lauterbach said the government wanted to 'fight the black market' and protect young people, and after 18 months an evaluation of how legalising cannabis is working will happen in Germany.
There are punishments in place for anyone caught dealing to children as they'd expect to face at least two years in prison.
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Over here in the UK there are some Brits who reckon we should be following suit and legalising weed.
Some backers of the wacky-baccy reckon it 'could do so much for so many people with chronic conditions' and would bring in 'plenty of revenue, rather than lining drug dealers pockets'.
In the UK, it's been legal to use cannabis for medical reasons since 2018, but it remains a criminal offence to supply, produce or use the drug in any other way.
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Polling in the UK last year indicated that around 35 percent of Brits support legalising cannabis, but it was a narrow divide as 38 percent were opposed to changing the current laws.
As the calls for new legalisation continue, Germany is the most recent model for countries considering it to look at.
Speaking to LADbible last year, Stephen Murphy of Prohibition Partners said the country was 'trying to understand how to address the black market properly'.
Should the UK be following the German example?
Topics: Drugs, World News, UK News
Joe Harker