German Commissioner Visits The Netherlands To Learn About Cannabis Trials
The European continent is home to a handful of interesting local cannabis public policy experiments often referred to as cannabis pilot trials or programs. The trials are designed, in theory, to collect consumer and commerce data at a local level to help national policymakers when they are crafting broader laws, rules, and regulations.
Switzerland has trials already in operation in multiple cities, each with its limits on the number of participants that can take part in the public policy experiment. The trials in Switzerland range in size from hundreds of consumers up to thousands, with each consumer being able to make legal purchases from regulated outlets that are also participating in the programs.
The adult-use legalization measure being considered in Germany also incorporates the concept of local cannabis commerce trials. Germany’s Commissioner for Addiction and Drug Issues Burkhard Blienert traveled to The Netherlands recently to discuss the concept:
Zu Besuch bei @BMAlmere im niederländischen Almere: Seine Gemeinde nimmt an einem Modellprojekt für reguliertes Cannabis teil. Die Gespräche dort zeigen mir: Wir dürfen in Deutschland die Modellvorhaben zur kontrollierten Abgabe nicht auf die lange Bank schieben! pic.twitter.com/BHicKtgAmE
— Sucht- und Drogenbeauftragter der Bundesregierung (@BdB_SD_Blienert) December 6, 2023
Cannabis trials are not a part of adult-use legalization models in the Western Hemisphere. In both Uruguay and Canada, the first two nations to pass national adult-use legalization measures, cannabis sales are permitted nationwide. It is worth noting that Uruguay limits legal purchases to residents only.
The only other two nations to pass adult-use legalization measures at a national level are Malta and Luxembourg, and in the case of Luxembourg, the nation’s legalization model is very restrictive. Sales of any kind are still prohibited in Luxembourg.
In Malta, personal cultivation, possession, and consumption are all legal for adults, as well as permitted purchases via the nation’s growing list of noncommercial cannabis clubs. Malta has no current plans to expand its legalization model.
Germany, on the other hand, does have expressed plans to launch cannabis trials eventually, and when that happens the size and scope of the cannabis trials will likely be much larger than what is currently found elsewhere on the European continent, albeit on a timeline that is still unclear.