The drug policy of

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

is considered to be one of the most lenient among

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

(EU) countries. Policies vary depending on the

state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

History

In 1994, the

Federal Constitutional Court The Federal Constitutional Court ( ; abbreviated: ) is the supreme constitutional court for the Federal Republic of Germany, established by the constitution or Basic Law () of Germany. Since its inception with the beginning of the post-W ...

ruled that drug addiction and the possession of small quantities of narcotics for personal use were not crimes. In 2000, the German law on narcotics (

Betäubungsmittelgesetz The Narcotic Drugs Act (, or BtMG) is the controlled substances law of Germany. In common with the Misuse of Drugs Act of 1971 of the United Kingdom and Controlled Substances Acts of the US and Canada, it is a consolidation of prior regulatio ...

) was changed to allow supervised injection rooms. In 2002, a pilot project was started in seven German cities to evaluate the effects of heroin-assisted treatment on addicts, compared to

methadone Methadone, sold under the brand names Dolophine and Methadose among others, is a synthetic opioid used medically to treat chronic pain and opioid use disorder. Prescribed for daily use, the medicine relieves cravings and opioid withdrawal sym ...

-assisted treatment. In 2009, the positive results of the study led to heroin-assisted treatment becoming included in mandatory health insurance. As of November 2010, the youth organisation of

Alliance 90/The Greens Alliance 90/The Greens (, ), often simply referred to as Greens (, ), is a Green (politics), green political party in Germany. It was formed in 1993 by the merger of the Greens (formed in West Germany in 1980) and Alliance 90 (formed in East Ger ...

, namely the Green Youth, support the decriminalisation of those who consume drugs and the regulated sale of drugs via specialist stores along with drug education. In February 2021, authorities in Germany and

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

seized more than of

cocaine Cocaine is a tropane alkaloid and central nervous system stimulant, derived primarily from the leaves of two South American coca plants, ''Erythroxylum coca'' and ''Erythroxylum novogranatense, E. novogranatense'', which are cultivated a ...

, worth billions of

euro The euro (currency symbol, symbol: euro sign, €; ISO 4217, currency code: EUR) is the official currency of 20 of the Member state of the European Union, member states of the European Union. This group of states is officially known as the ...

s, from shipments that originated in

Paraguay Paraguay, officially the Republic of Paraguay, is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the Argentina–Paraguay border, south and southwest, Brazil to the Brazil–Paraguay border, east and northeast, and Boli ...

and

Panama Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...

. In an international operation that resulted in one arrest, a man from

Vlaardingen Vlaardingen () is a large town and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in South Holland in the Netherlands. It is located on the north bank of the Nieuwe Maas river at the confluence with the Oude Maas. The municipality admin ...

, Netherlands, German and Belgian authorities seized the largest amount of cocaine in Europe.

Cannabis policy

In 2017, Germany re-allowed medical cannabis. After the

2021 German federal election The 2021 German federal election was held in Germany on 26 September 2021 to elect the members of the 20th Bundestag. State elections in Berlin and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern were also held. Incumbent chancellor Angela Merkel, first elected in 2005, ...

, the new government announced in their

coalition agreement A coalition government, or coalition cabinet, is a government by political parties that enter into a power-sharing arrangement of the executive. Coalition governments usually occur when no single party has achieved an absolute majority after an e ...

that they intend to legalise cannabis for all purposes (including recreational), and legislation to this effect was passed on 23 February 2024. The German cannabis control bill law went into effect on 1 April.

References

Drug control law Drug policy reform German criminal law History of drug control Psychoactive drugs Regulation in Germany Regulation of chemicals {{psychoactive-stub

History

Cannabis policy

See also

References