Right on schedule, the coalition government has signalled an additional few months delay in moving forward to approve the first part of the recreational cannabis bill.
Yesterday, according to the German Press Association (DPA) and widely reported by the domestic press, the German government signalled that the much delayed cannabis legalization bill, part 1 (aka CanG) will be further delayed.
Originally signalled to pass by the end of the year (indeed the Health Ministry was tasked with the same at peril of losing its PR budget), as of yesterday, it appears that legislative matters will push back the required reading of the bill in both chambers of Parliament until early February rather than the second week of December. This means that the bill will probably become law as of April 1.
No joke.
This would make the entire issue move forward almost exactly on the seventh anniversary after the medical bill became law (in April 2017).
In and of itself, this is not a big deal. Essentially the entire approvals process in the upper chamber of parliament (the Bundesrat) has been delayed for the holidays.
What is more interesting is the signal it sends for the second part of the legislative schedule on this topic – namely CanG Part II, or the model projects part of all of this, originally slated to be discussed next summer after it was split off from the first part now torturously making its way through the legislative process.
Given the schedule delay, it will easily be next fall (at the earliest) before anyone begins tackling the Model Project idea. And given the schedule of hearings, controversies and delays, it is very conceivable that the entire enchilada of legal sales beyond nonprofit clubs will be delayed until 2026, at the earliest. Or, should anyone have forgotten, perfectly timed to hit the next political conflagration at a federal national level.
Yes, things are exciting, finally moving. And yes, cannabis will be removed from the Narcotics Act. Beyond this, all bets, if not timetables are on slow mode.
But then again, this is the cannabis industry. What else is new?
