Luxembourg’s Home Grow Legislation In Progress
The long-delayed legislation appears to be moving – perhaps in response to the dramatic announcement that the German government will legalize recreational use this year
During a Parliamentary “Question Time” last week, a Pirate Party representative, Sven Clement asked about the status of legalization of cannabis.
He was informed by Justice Minister Sam Tanson that work on this bill has been delayed due to the involvement of several ministries in the process. This includes the Ministry of Health whose priorities for the last two years have been the pandemic.
The good news? The first step – the long-delayed legislation permitting the cultivation of up to four plants at home, is about to be submitted to the Governing Council (consisting of the Prime Minister and a number of Ministers – similar to a British or American cabinet).
Luxembourg Cannot Ignore Its Neighbour – Much Less Its Electoral Promise
It was almost inevitable that Luxembourg would accelerate its long-promised and now delayed legalization plans after Germany announced that it would pass legislation authorizing a recreational cannabis market by the end of this year.
Apart from geographical proximity, Luxembourg has been poised at this point for the last several years – since the new government came to power in 2018. The ruling coalition however has never issued any more of a timetable than sometime before 2023.
Given, however, that the pandemic is receding, and cannabis reform has clearly continued to progress across the region (see Switzerland) there was little chance that the Luxembourgian government could fence sit indefinitely.
The Importance of Luxembourg on German Reform – And Vice Versa
Both countries seem, at this point, to be influencing each other. The new schedule in Luxembourg is undoubtedly being influenced by the recent German announcement. Luxembourg previously announced that its first foray into the entire discussion would be home grow. This in turn, however, has clearly ensured that home grow would also be on the menu on the German side of the border.
Home grow is going to be a tricky discussion just about everywhere. Namely, how will it be regulated, will patients be allowed a higher plant count than others, and will patient non-profits now be allowed to operate, serving multiple patients?
There is no way to determine these details yet. But they are clearly on the drawing board.
In the meantime, it is clear that Luxembourg is moving ahead on reform actively now. This means that by 2023, four European countries including not only Switzerland, but Malta, Germany and now Luxembourg, will have moved into the federal legalization camp.