Luxembourg scraps legal cannabis plan

by Team Inc.

2021-10-02-Luxembourg scraps legal cannabis plan

A 2018 government promise to legalize cannabis in the country now appears likely to be finally scrapped. People are only allowed to grow small amounts for their own use.

A second minister has distanced himself from a once-widespread pledge to legalize cannabis. This is an important policy change for the country.

Cannabis plan in Luxembourg

The plan attracted a lot of international attention when it was announced three years ago by the three-party coalition of the Democratic Party (DP), the Luxembourg Socialist Workers' Party (LSAP) and the Greens (Déi Gréng). This is because it would become the first country in Europe to fully legalize cannabis.

However, this cannabis plan now seems to have come to a rough halt. Difficulties posed by EU law would make full legalization unlikely and impede. That was what Minister of Health Paulette Lenert told the public broadcaster Radio 100,7 on Tuesday.

Legalization of cannabis sales off the job?

The government is exploring alternatives, Lenert said, though it declined to specify what form a new proposal would take. Josée Lorsché, the party leader of the Greens, also said on Tuesday that changes would be made to the bill, the Luxembourger Wort reported.

Ministers are planning a new regulation that would allow people to grow cannabis in small quantities for private consumption, Radio 100,7 reported, while scrapping the original 2018 proposal to legalize the sale of the drug.

Lenert's refusal to confirm the 2018 coalition pledge comes after Attorney General Sam Tanson declined to confirm the measure would go through. "I can't confirm anything," Tanson said in an interview on Sept. 17. Tanson will announce a package of measures in October on safety and drug policy issues, including the regulation of cannabis use. However, she gave no further details.

Lenert also sidestepped questions about a possible date for an announcement on Tuesday. Last year, the cabinet presented a roadmap to legalization for the next elections in 2023.

Cannabis plan in violation of international law

Luxembourg's three neighboring countries expressed their dissatisfaction with the cannabis plan, fearing that the simpler rules could cause problems in border regions. Countries like the Netherlands and Portugal have only decriminalized cannabis.

Any move by Luxembourg to introduce full legalization would also contravene the UN treaties it has signed restricting the use of cannabis to research and medical purposes and could therefore be considered a violation of international law. straight. Whether the cannabis plan will ever be rolled out remains a mystery.

Read more luxtimes.lu (Source, EN)

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