Doctors in Europe divided over cannabis legalisation in Germany

With Germany’s Bundestag voting to legalise the use of cannabis on Friday (23 February), health professionals in France and across Europe remain divided over the effectiveness of such a measure in protecting consumers.

“Today we are passing a very important law with which we are fundamentally changing our cannabis control policy,” German Health Minister Karl Lauterbach told the Bundestag on Friday.

From now on, people aged 18 or over in Germany will be able to possess up to 25 grams of cannabis for personal use. They will have to obtain their supplies from Cannabis Social Clubs, as the sale of cannabis is banned in tobacconists and pharmacies.

The THC content, the main active substance in cannabis responsible for its psychotropic effects, is regulated and may not exceed 10%.

“We are pursuing two goals. The first goal is to combat the black market. The second goal is to improve the protection of children and young people,” added Lauterbach.

In France, addiction associations and professionals applauded Germany’s new law. “It’s a good thing. From a public health point of view, we need to move towards decriminalisation,” says Catherine Delorme, vice-president of the Fédération Addictions.

Legalising cannabis would make it possible to promote prevention, regulate access to different products and control their quality, as well as protecting vulnerable groups such as minors.

This idea is shared by the association Addictions France, which believes that “our current policy, based on repression of consumers, weakens public health and solidarity concerns”.

France has 1.3 million regular drug users, including 850,000 daily smokers, according to the French Drugs Observatory (OFDT).

In Europe, the French are the second highest consumers of cannabis after the Greeks, according to OFDT figures published in 2021.

Researchers found that 44.8% of French people aged between 15 and 64 have used cannabis at least once in their lives, compared with 37.5% of Spaniards and 38.4% of Danes. In the Netherlands, where cannabis is freely available, the figure is 27.7%.

Germany adopts controversial law to legalise cannabis

After months of delays, the controversial law to partially legalise cannabis in Germany finally passed in the Bundestag on Friday (23 February), paving the way for making the possession and cultivation of the drug legal by April.

Legalisation “worsens” the effects on health

However, the enthusiasm of addiction associations is not shared by the profession as a whole.

“Evidence shows that cannabis is an addictive drug with many hazards. These risks are heightened for adolescents in particular,’ Dr Ray Walley, vice-president of the Standing Committee of European Doctors (CPME), told Euractiv.

Cannabis use can damage the development of a young brain, leading to greater cognitive difficulties in children and adolescents than in adults. Regular use also encourages the onset of psychosis, depression, anxiety disorders and memory loss.

“The brain’s development processes are not yet complete at the age of 25. The damage is permanent and lasts a lifetime,” warns the German Medical Association.

Instead of legalisation, the German Medical Association is calling for the development of cannabis education and prevention. “Politicians have a duty to protect citizens from harm to their health. However, the planned legalisation of cannabis would achieve the opposite,” they said.

French doctors are fighting the same battle for greater prevention and protection for young people. However, they argue that legalisation is necessary for it to become a public health issue and thus benefit from information campaigns, funding and educational programs in schools.

The CPME definitively rejects this argument, stating that “the weight of current evidence indicates that legalisation would add to health harms across the population”.

Instead, the CPME calls on local, national and European public health agencies to focus their efforts on surveillance “to ensure the availability of data on the short- and long-term health effects of cannabis”.

France to keep a cautious watch on German cannabis bill

As Germany moves towards the legalisation of recreational cannabis in 2024, the French government intends to keep a close eye on developments in its European neighbour’s legislative framework.

No European legislation

The legalisation of cannabis is a matter for the member states, not the EU. Only a non-binding European Parliament resolution adopted in 2019 recommends establishing European rules on therapeutic and recreational cannabis.

“Legal rules would help to control points of sale and limit recourse to the black market. They would also help prevent substance abuse and addiction among minors and vulnerable groups,” it states.

In Europe in 2021, 97,000 users entered care services for problems related to cannabis use.

Portugal has decriminalised all drugs since 2001 and cannabis consumption in Portugal is three times lower than in France, according to French MP Caroline Janvier (Renaissance).

“It’s time to build on foreign initiatives and develop a French model based on prevention and harm reduction,” concluded Addictions France.

Germany sets out plans for cannabis legalisation amid EU law worries

German health minister Karl Lauterbach presented plans for legalising cannabis for recreational use – a key promise of the country’s “traffic light” government, although the project could still be halted by the EU Commission.

[Edited by Nathalie Weatherald]

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