Luxembourg has become the second European Union member country to legalize the possession and cultivation of cannabis for personal use after Malta.
After facing two years of delays, Luxembourg has taken a significant step towards ending its prohibition policy against cannabis.
A majority of 38 MPs voted on Wednesday in favor of a bill legalizing cannabis home cultivation and possession for recreational purposes, while 22 MPs voted against it.
The legalization of adult-use cannabis in Luxembourg allows for the possession, consumption, and cultivation of up to three grams.
However, possession, consumption, transportation, and purchase of cannabis in public spaces remains prohibited. The penalties have been reduced, with fines ranging from €25 ($27) to €500 ($544) for amounts up to three grams. However, if the possession exceeds three grams, people may face criminal proceedings lasting from eight days to six months, accompanied by fines ranging from €251 ($273) to €2,500 ($2,722).
Regarding cultivation, households are permitted to grow up to four plants as long as the cultivation is not visible from the outside.
After Wednesday's debate, Minister of Justice Sam Tanson, who is part of the country's Green Party, emphasized that the criminalization of cannabis has proven to be a failure, as reported by the Luxembourger news media outlet L'Essentiel.
However, the law proposed by the coalition government faced strong criticism from the opposition Christian Social People's Party. MP Gilles Roth argued that the black market would persist and consumption would not be effectively restricted, adding that Luxembourg's adoption of this law would violate international conventions.
In the meantime, Josée Lorsché (Green Party) from the Judiciary Committee said that the next phase for the country would involve the creation of regulated systems for the production and sales of cannabis run by the state.
Despite significant delays caused by the ongoing pandemic, the legislative process has finally ended. There had been uncertainties regarding whether the legislative text could be adopted before the end of July, before the summer break.
The final step now is for the law to be officially published in the Official Gazette.
Luxembourg has taken a significant step towards ending its prohibition policy against cannabis with the implementation of this new law. Before the 2018 parliamentary elections, it legalized medical cannabis, and in 2001, the country reclassified cannabis as a Category B controlled substance, effectively decriminalizing personal possession.
Unlike Malta, which became the first EU country to legalize cannabis for personal use in late 2021, Luxembourg has not established the legal framework for the creation of cannabis social clubs.
Luxembourg has, therefore, adopted a more restrictive legalization model that will allow cannabis users to consume cannabis with specific rules without facing fines and criminal charges.
Given the current legal framework in the EU, which prohibits member countries from establishing a legal market for adult-use cannabis, it is expected that those EU member countries that are making efforts to regulate cannabis will likely adopt a model similar to that of Luxembourg and Malta.
This is the case of Germany, which faced the weight of high expectations regarding the legalization of cannabis. Initially, Germany aimed to establish a legal market for selling cannabis products. However, due to the European legal restrictions, it had to back up from its original plan and instead develop a framework centered around the legalization of cannabis for personal use. This framework includes provisions for personal consumption, possession, and cultivation, as well as the establishment of cannabis social clubs. Additionally, a pilot program for the sale of adult-use cannabis in specific cities is expected to be introduced at a later stage. A draft law about the legalization of cannabis for personal use in Germany is expected to be introduced in mid-August.
The reason why European countries that have regulated cannabis have stricter regulations compared to the US states, which have established legal markets for the sale of cannabis products in recent years, is mainly due to the risk of violating international conventions and European laws that forbid the regulation of cannabis for recreational use.
