Which European Country Will Legalize Cannabis After Germany?
On April 1st, 2024, Germany became the largest nation on the planet to implement a national adult-use cannabis legalization measure. The historic policy change came weeks after members of Germany’s Bundestag approved the new CanG law, with the first provisions of the new law taking effect on April 1st.
Adults 18 years old or older can now cultivate up to three plants in their private residences in Germany. Additionally, adults can also possess up to 25 grams when away from their homes. Cannabis was also removed from Germany’s Narcotics List as part of the nation’s new cannabis law, which will have a significant impact on the country’s medical cannabis program, the sector’s supply chain, and German medical cannabis research efforts.
Germany is home to the largest economy in Europe, and the third-largest economy globally. The European country holds tremendous political influence at both the continental and international levels, and that has many cannabis observers inside and outside of Europe speculating about which of Germany’s continental peers will be the next to adopt a national adult-use legalization measure.
Malta became the first European nation to ever pass a national adult-use cannabis legalization measure in 2021. Adults in Malta can legally cultivate cannabis in their private homes, possess cannabis away from their residences, and they can join one of a growing list of noncommercial cannabis clubs. Luxembourg also passed a national adult-use legalization measure in 2023, however, Luxembourg’s legalization model is the most restrictive out of Europe’s legalized countries and only permits cultivation, possession, and consumption by adults.
Germany’s legalization model is far more robust compared to the models adopted by Malta and Luxembourg. Germany will soon also permit noncommercial cannabis clubs, and they should be far more prevalent in Germany in the coming years compared to Malta’s clubs. Furthermore, Germany also has plans to launch regional adult-use cannabis commerce pilot projects, and they are also expected to be widespread in the coming years. Germany has created a blueprint for other European Union member nations to follow, and below are nations that are the most likely candidates to do so.
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic shares an 815-kilometer border with Germany. Cannabis reform discussions were already well underway in the Czech Republic prior to Germany’s legalization push, however, those discussions heated up considerably in October 2022 in the midst of Germany’s legalization push.
“At the moment, there is a political consensus for me to create this proposal for the regulation of cannabis, a substance which is illegal at the moment. We want to regulate it with the help of the market and we believe that this regulation will be more effective than the current ban.” Czech National Anti-Drug Coordinator Jindřich Vobořil stated to Radio Prague International in October 2022 regarding a proposal to legalize cannabis for adult use.
“Germany and the Czech Republic go to a regulated market at the same time.” Jindřich Vobořil stated on his Facebook page at the time. The post was made the same day that German Health Minister Karl Lauterbach made his formal legalization presentation in Germany.
“I’m pretty sure I want to hold on to cannabis clubs until my last breath. I find this model very useful, at least for the first years.” Vobořil went on to state in his post. In January 2024, the Czech Republic’s Economic Council issued a recommendation to regulate domestic cannabis sales. With legalization now a reality in Germany, momentum for reform in the Czech Republic has presumably increased.
Italy
In December 2019, Italy’s top court issued a landmark ruling in which it determined that bans on private, personal home cultivation were unconstitutional. The Italian court decreed at the time that the crime of cultivating cannabis should exclude “small amounts grown domestically for the exclusive use of the grower.”
The landmark ruling put pressure on Italy’s lawmakers to pass a measure to further codify personal adult-use cannabis rights into law. Unfortunately, time has proven that Italy’s politicians are slow to work to achieve that goal, and domestic cannabis activists have since tried to take matters into their own hands.
Cannabis activists in Italy worked to gather enough signatures to place a referendum vote before the nation’s voters, and a vote was set for 2022. However, Italian courts stepped in and deemed the referendum to be unconstitutional ending the effort before a vote occurred. Advocates regrouped in Italy, and in 2023 re-launched the legalization effort and as of December 2023 had already gathered half of the required signatures. A poll from October 2023 found that over half of Italian voters would support a cannabis legalization referendum.
Slovenia
A concerted push is underway in Slovenia to modernize the nation’s cannabis policies, with a referendum vote for both medical cannabis and adult-use cannabis reform scheduled for June 9th, 2024. The referendum questions were approved by Slovenia’s National Assembly on April 25th and voting on them will occur alongside the vote for the European Parliament.
Slovenia is one of the most cannabis-friendly nations on the planet. Per an analysis conducted by Marihuana Marš, Študentska Organizacija Univerze v Ljubljani and published in November 2023, Slovenia is home to over 200,000 regular cannabis consumers. Additionally, researchers have determined that 45% of Slovenian adults feel that cannabis is easy to access in the Balkan nation.
The referendum votes occurring in June of this year are not legally binding. However, a vote that yields overwhelming support for adult-use cannabis legalization would put significant pressure on Slovenia’s lawmakers to respect the will of their constituents. In September 2023 Slovenia’s leadership made history at the International Cannabis Business Conference with Dr. Metka Paragi, the current Secretary for Health of the Slovenian Prime Minister’s cabinet, speaking at the event.
Spain and The Netherlands
Both Spain and the Netherlands present interesting public policy scenarios, with adult cannabis use and commerce being widespread in both countries. All domestic adult-use cannabis commerce in Spain is controlled by an unregulated market, and except for a handful of pilot projects in the Netherlands, the same is true for the Dutch market.
Support for legalization is particularly strong in the Netherlands. According to the results of a poll published in April 2024, 60% of residents in the Netherlands support regulating adult-use cannabis sales. A poll from 2022 involving Spain and a handful of other European countries found that 55% of residents support legalizing cannabis for adult use.
Cannabis use and commerce by adults is tolerated and widespread in both countries, which can be somewhat of a hindrance to policy modernization efforts. The same principle that makes the Netherlands and Spain two of the best countries for cannabis consumers is the same principle that creates an urgency gap among policymakers and advocates in both nations to reform their laws.
European Union Reform
In addition to national-level cannabis policy reform efforts in parts of Europe, there is also a push at the European Union level led by Germany. European Union agreements prohibit nationwide adult-use sales like what is currently in place in Canada. EU agreements do permit medical cannabis commerce, and limited adult-use commerce via pilot projects among its members. However, agreements need to be reformed to permit adult-use commerce on the level that is operating in Canada.
Cannabis advocates have pursued various efforts over the years to convince the European Union and its members to amend continental agreements to remove cannabis prohibition provisions. Those efforts gained considerable momentum on April 1st when Germany implemented the first components of its national legalization law.
As legalization inevitably succeeds in Germany, more countries will adopt part or all of the adult-use cannabis policy blueprint that Germany has created. Those national reform victories will, in turn, build momentum for continental reform as more countries enact sensible adult-use cannabis policies. Eventually, the European cannabis legalization movement will gain the support of enough nations to reach a critical mass and European Union reform will finally be achieved.
