The traffic light government wants to release cannabis - but hashish from Africa and Asia should remain outside
A commentary by Sadhu van Hemp
The hemp community looks forward to delivering on the new government's promise to Dispense cannabis for recreational purposes in a controlled manner. Optimism prevails and there is a great belief that everything will be fine - no matter how, the main thing is that the hemp is free. But do the federal government's plans really promise freedom, or is it just a mirage of freedom?
As it turns out, marketability will be limited to Germany: Cultivation, processing and sale should take place in a self-contained system - also with regard to the fact that cannabis approval made in Germany does not violate the "UN Convention against Narcotic Drugs ’, which the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic co-signed in 1961. The lawyers are confident that this special path, which Canada and Uruguay have already taken, is permissible.
If all legal concerns are dispelled, the foundation stone for the Giga project could actually be laid to produce 300 to 500 tons of hemp flowers annually in Germany and to ensure the basic supply of the population with marijuana grown under artificial light. If all the calculations add up, there will soon be no more cannabis crimes and all prisoners will only smoke taxed marijuana cigarettes.
So far so good. But despite all the beauty, the question remains as to how those linnets who prefer to enjoy hashish will be dealt with in the future. Not all hash smokers will make the forced switch to industrially grown marijuana. The demand for premium hash from Africa and Asia will not abate and will continue to be served by brave, criminalized people. Especially since it can be assumed that hashish prices will remain stable and consumer-friendly. According to the will of the federal government, hashish importers and dealers should continue to feel the full force of the law, while the licensed trade with marijuana manufactured in Germany enjoys freedom of movement. Sounds absurd, and it is.
With all the considerations that are now being exerted in the parliamentary committees when drafting the reform, the decision-makers should seriously consider the extent to which there is the possibility of also allowing the import of hashish and marijuana from the traditional growing countries in Africa and Asia.
The benefits of complementary import of cannabis cannot be overlooked and would benefit all parties. The hemp farmers in Morocco, Lebanon, Afghanistan and many other economically weak countries could free themselves from the rule of the drug cartels and generate sufficient taxable income that flows directly into the infrastructure of the mostly impoverished regions. The black market in Germany would have to suffer severe losses if all cannabis products available in the world were legally available in specialist shops at a fair price. The danger of contaminated smoking products would also be averted if the imported hashish and marijuana were checked for harmful substances by the supervisory authorities - as is also the case with coffee and tea.
Last but not least, the cultivation of outdoor hemp in Asia and Africa is largely climate-friendly - in contrast to the cultivation of indoor marijuana in Germany, which consumes enormous amounts of electricity.
In addition, allowing hashish and marijuana to be imported would significantly shorten the process of implementing cannabis liberalization. The community wouldn't have to wait years for the mammoth task of planning and operating a few dozen Fort Knox-secured marijuana factories. Morocco alone produces almost 5,000 tons of hashish every year - and with a decent surplus. A phone call from the new economics minister in Rabat would suffice, and all of Morocco would be upside down, so as not to miss out on this lucrative and legal deal with the most powerful country in Europe. If such trade agreements were concluded with the classic cannabis-growing countries, Germany could set up a completely legal cannabis market within a very short time, which would also benefit those brothers and sisters who prefer the bouquet of the best hashish varieties from the Orient and North Africa.
So, dear traffic light coalition partners: Before you actually chisel your much-vaunted “cannabis approval” in stone, think again and think carefully about whether it is really expedient to want to cover the annual requirements of the Germans exclusively with German indoor hedges. Basically, it's as if the Germans were being forced to drink alcohol only from German production. No more champagne, Lambrusco and Guinness? From now on only German beer, German wine, German schnapps?
No, there would be no acceptance for that in Germany, because that would be tantamount to prohibition. And the hemp community won't see it any differently once they realize that the state-controlled supply of Germans with domestic indoor weed leaves no freedom of choice and only the black market remains to buy a nice stone or Thai stick for a change. And that can't be in the interests of the red-yellow-green inventors of hemp approval if everything fails in the end because legalization ignores the needs of hemp consumers.
This content was originally published here.
