Since yesterday, our neighbors in Germany have had new rules for cannabis and its consumption (tagesschau.de, watson.ch, srf.ch, legal text). However – and we have already had quite a lot of experience with this in Switzerland – it will take a few years for the new situation to really «solidify» in everyday life. In the meantime, a lot can still happen – or not. Aside from a new government, for example, local law enforcement agencies are also likely to play an important role, as they are on the front line and responsible for the actual implementation.
Here in Switzerland, it took ten years and various federal court rulings before the handling of the fixed penalties and small quantities was really clear to everyone and implemented in line with the legislators' intentions. But as life goes, the fixed penalties had lost importance in the meantime anyway and their number has not even been published by the Federal Statistical Office since last year.
But for now, we are happy for our brothers and sisters in Germany and hope that the new approach can ease the knotty situation with cannabis somewhat. However, it will take a while for people to leave decades of repression behind them – and as soon as this is achieved, something else will probably apply again. We will stay tuned and report on this.