Our local press here in the Hessen region....Frankfurt's FAZ....is reporting that a forum opening up today within Frankfurt, with the topic of legalizing marijuana. The deputy mayor of Frankfurt, a Green Party member, is the one holding the forum.
No city or state within Germany has total legalization of marijuana. What is approved to some degree is medical marijuana.
Where does this lead onto? Generally, the only political party with a stance generally against legalization is the CDU/CSU team. The Greens are supportive of legalization, as are most of the SPD folks who comment on this. I've never heard the Linke Party comment over it.....but I'd suspect that they generally go along with the legalization idea, with some limits.
Last weekend, I watched a local Hessen news piece over a roadblock deal where on a Friday or Saturday night.....a significant number of people were pulled over and checked out. In the old days.....it was merely an alcohol check and a vehicle safety review. This episode also involved a drug-testing procedure. They hauled one guy away because he tested positive for cocaine and was still on a high.....which generally means a loss of license.
What few people grasp....when they do the street tests and you fail on some drug like marijuana or ecstasy.....it's the same issues as if you were drunk. License lost for a number of months.....a fine....and your insurance company gets a note about the episode (you could see a higher cost for insurance).
Generally, I'd say the trend in Germany will be city-by-city acceptance of marijuana, with Frankfurt likely the first place to accept it. I'd also say that people will be shocked over the first couple of years as more and more folks fail the alcohol/drug checks conducted by the cops. These are the people who go out on a Friday night.....enjoy an evening at some club....huff on some joint three or four times with their friend.....and discover that this was the unlucky night to bump into the safety patrol folks.
Frankly, the German cops just don't care about some user and his marijuana joint. Course, if they happen to safety review some car and find some guy with enough marijuana for two-thousand joints.....well, that's different. That's dealer status, and a simple conviction.
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