Berlin, 2020-02-12: The SPD parliamentary group in the German Bundestag has adopted a new position on cannabis policy at its meeting yesterday. In a position paper titled “Cannabis: Taking New Paths!”, the SPD advocates for the decriminalization of consumers and calls for the approval of municipal pilot projects for the legal distribution of cannabis to adults.

Jürgen Neumeyer, Managing Director of the German Cannabis Business Association (BvCW), stated:

“We welcome the SPD’s new stance. It brings renewed momentum to the necessary discussion around German cannabis policy. As the cannabis industry, we need reliable regulatory frameworks, high quality standards, and effective youth protection across many segments of our sector. Under current conditions, that is often not possible. With this repositioning, the governing coalition can now also address these areas.”

Deputy Chairwoman of the SPD parliamentary group, Dr. Eva Högl, told BvCW:

“We are entering a new era of drug policy. Our resolution is a first step. Now it’s up to the CDU. A new drug policy is long overdue. The access, cultivation, and distribution of cannabis must be regulated and controlled. For that, we need a solid cannabis industry.”

Dirk Heidenblut, Member of the Bundestag and the SPD’s spokesperson on drug policy, added regarding the resolution—which passed with only a few dissenting votes on Tuesday evening:

“Cannabis prohibition in Germany has failed spectacularly. It criminalizes unnecessarily, fuels an expanding black market, and overwhelms police and judicial resources. Through pilot projects, municipalities that are willing should be given the opportunity to pursue legal and regulated cannabis distribution.”

The SPD views this policy shift as a “first step” toward a new drug policy and further calls for:

“To achieve immediate improvements, the SPD parliamentary group supports ending criminal prosecution for possession of small amounts of cannabis and instead treating it as an administrative offense.”

In the 1990s, the SPD parliamentary group had already advocated several times for the full decriminalization of minor cannabis-related offenses. However, this position was not renewed in the 2000s. The current resolution had previously been postponed multiple times by the SPD’s executive board. Now, along with the demands of the Greens (B90/Die Grünen), the FDP, and Die Linke, this development creates a theoretical majority in the Bundestag for a change in Germany’s cannabis policy.