After the adoption of the vaccine pass, the deputies of the National Assembly must debate Thursday, January 6 of the legalization of cannabis (a debate without a vote), at the request of the Freedom and Territories group. Other countries are also looking into the subject, such as Germany and Italy.
In Germany, recreational cannabis legalization but not before 2024
It is in the program of the new ruling coalition. Social Democrats, Greens and Liberals want to introduce the “Controlled distribution of cannabis for adults in stores that are presumably more state-licensed pharmacies.” This would not be done before 2024, in other words seven years after the authorization of medical cannabis, Germany would regulate its recreational use. And if the tricolor coalition wants to do it, it is to protect the youth and prevent dangerous and poor quality substances from circulating.
There is in addition, and this is not negligible, the argument of the increase in tax revenues for the State, estimated at nearly 2 billion euros in a study commissioned by the German hemp association in the recently published economist Justus Haucap. According to the economist, the cannabis tax alone would bring in 1.8 billion euros for Germany. Added to this are VAT, business taxes, corporate tax or on wages, for a total of 2.9 billion euros.
But his final calculation is around 5 billion euros per year, because this economist also includes more than a billion savings made by the police and justice. On paper, in theory, the police and justice should have less to fight against crime, since the legal market must dry up traffic, on condition, it is also in this study to sell the gram of cannabis around 10 euros . For his part, economist Justus Haucap has other arguments. “These figures are quite comparable to those that the Economic Analysis Council calculated for France in 2019, he explains. So we think it would be a good deal for these two countries! This would create 27,000 jobs in Germany. It would also reduce health costs, since consumers buy quality products. And where cannabis is already legalized, we see that among so-called problematic users, such as adolescents, consumption is not increasing. And this is very positive and, even cheerful, news. “
All these arguments do not yet agree with the entire German political class and in particular the Bundesrat, the equivalent of the Senate. The coalition therefore still has to work on its project. The bill expected by this summer on the assumption of a quickest timetable.
A referendum on the decriminalization of cannabis in Italy in the spring
Italy is one of the most tolerant countries in this area. Indeed, since 2019, the Italian Court of Cassation has authorized the cultivation of cannabis at home as long as it remains for personal use and in small quantities. Since January 2017, its sale with a concentration of THC, the psychoactive principle below 0.2% is legal in the peninsula. Specialty shops have sprung up all over town centers and have met with great success.
Just before the pandemic, Italy had more than 4,000 hectares of hemp legally cultivated by farmers. The sector employs 10,000 people and achieves an estimated turnover of nearly 50 million euros. It is estimated that the country has six million regular consumers and that the cannabis market, including illegal trafficking, weighs more than 6 billion euros annually. Cannabis thus accounts for 58% of law enforcement anti-drug operations, 96% of seizures and 48% of drug-related cases in court. For the detractors of legalization, it would represent a gift to organized crime. For its promoters, it would pull the rug out from under him.
Citizens have the possibility of being at the origin of repealing referendums to change the legislation in force. This has been the case in the past with abortion and divorce. And this is now the case with the recreational use of cannabis. A referendum on its decriminalization will take place next spring. To organize such an event, its promoters must collect at least 50,000 signatures. In three days, they had gathered 300,000 and they quickly exceeded one million. An unprecedented success made possible by a technological innovation: the possibility, for the first time, of collecting signatures online thanks to the new digital identity called “speed”, certified by the State and used to access public services on the Internet . An innovation that will now be used to promote direct democracy in Italy.