PRIVATE BEER BREWING AND TOBACCO CULTIVATION SERVE AS MODELS; CULTIVATION CLUBS COULD ALSO BE MADE POSSIBLE
Berlin, 09/27/2022 – As part of the upcoming regulation of cannabis as a stimulant, a solution must also be found for private home cultivation. This is currently illegal. In practice, the currently illegal self-cultivation is nevertheless not uncommon to ensure a cost-effective supply of personal use as a stimulant. At the same time, they are thus independent of the black market and protected from its health hazards, especially from dangerous extenders and admixtures.
The German Cannabis Business Association (BvCW) has now issued a position paper in support of the right to legal private cultivation. Beer brewing or tobacco cultivation could serve as an orientation for this. Currently, up to 200 liters of beer per year may be brewed for private consumption after registration with customs. In the case of tobacco, a limit of 100 plants (without declaration) has become established in practice. The production of wine for private personal use also does not require a permit. The products may not be resold.
“With this proposal, we want to help establish sensible regulation instead of the senseless criminalization of private individuals and further advance a modern prevention policy. For this purpose, we propose an upper limit of 6 plants per adult person and a digital registration with customs for the purpose of data collection,” said Benjamin Patock, department coordinator for technology, trade & services at BvCW. Within this framework, cultivation is to be tax-free. If the framework is exceeded, the rules of commercial cultivation will apply, which will likely require a license.
“We agree with the drug and addiction associations that the permission of registered cultivation associations should also be allowed. Seeds and cuttings for THC-containing cannabis are to be sold in upcoming specialized stores for this purpose. It is not expected that private individuals will harm themselves in the context of self-supply with extenders. Therefore, quality controls can be waived in these exceptional cases,” adds Dirk Heitepriem, vice president and departmental coordinator of stimulant regulation at the BvCW.
The BvCW’s position on home cultivation can be found here.
Further documents on the regulatory discussion:
ELEMENTE Vol. 26: Position paper on Track & Trace
ELEMENTE Vol. 25: Synopsis of association positions
ELEMENTE Vol. 24: Position paper on supply chains and production conditions
ELEMENTE Vol. 23: Position Paper on Prevention & Risk Minimization
ELEMENTE Vol. 22: Cannabis Regulation – Collection of mistakes and lessons learned from other countries
ELEMENTE Vol. 20: Key issues paper on stimulant regulation – Towards a German cannabis agenda