Following Germany, Brussels mayor calls to legalise cannabis
Following the reported agreement by the German Government on the legalisation of cannabis, Brussels mayor Philippe Close reiterated his plea to decriminalise and eventually legalise its use in Belgium and Brussels.
The German government agreed on Wednesday on a framework for the legalization of cannabis for recreational use for adults, subject to the approval of European law, announced the Minister of Health Karl Lauterbach during a press conference.
Under the plan approved by Chancellor Olaf Scholz's cabinet, cannabis and the active substance tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) would no longer be considered narcotics. The main lines of the project aim to place the production and trade of cannabis under “public control”.
The purchase and possession of a maximum quantity of 20 to 30 grams of cannabis for personal consumption would be exempt from sanction, private cultivation would be authorized to a certain extent and sale to adults in "specialty licensed shops and possibly in pharmacies would be possible.
"My full support for the socialist Chancellor Olaf Scholz who dares to legislate on cannabis," said Brussels Mayon Mr. Close on Twitter, tagging Prime Minister Alexander De Croo and Justice Minister Vincent Van Quickenborne. "It is time our country took the same direction. It is not about promoting a product but about managing it."
