Düsseldorf, Germany.

Lawmakers in Düsseldorf, the 7th most populous city in Germany, have agreed to move forward^[1] with a plan to establish a recreational cannabis pilot program, which will allow cannabis to be grown and distributed to adults. Berlin, Germany’s largest city, is planning a similar program.

The move is being pushed by a coalition between the Social Democratic Party, the Greens and the Free Democratic Party. On Wednesday the plan to establish a regulated cannabis market within the city as part of a pilot program was approved in the North Rhine-Westpahlian capital.

“Study, prevention and aid fall short because of criminalization,” said Green councillors Angela Hebeler and Norbert Czerwinski in a blog post^[2] published Thursday. They add that “the number of consumers fell drastically after it was decriminalized, for example in Portugal and the Netherlands.”

Hebeler and Czerwinsky say that; “We must investigate whether people with problematic consumption patterns can be more easily reached with this form of access and whether harm to health can be reduced by more effective consumer protection.”

Earlier this year legislation^[3] was introduced in the Bundestag (German parliament) that would allow adults to possess up to 30 grams of cannabis and cultivate up to three plants, while being allowing to purchase the plant from retail outlets.

– TheJoinBlog

References

1. ^{^} agreed to move forward (www.thelocal.de)
2. ^{^} in a blog post (www.gruene-duesseldorf.de)
3. ^{^} legislation (www.thelocal.de)