Germany’s parliament votes to legalize limited marijuana possession and allow ‘cannabis clubs’

By GEIR MOULSON
Associated Press

BERLIN (AP) — German lawmakers have approved a government plan to liberalize rules on cannabis, paving the way for the country to decriminalize limited amounts of marijuana and allow members of “cannabis clubs” to buy it for recreational purposes. Parliament’s lower house voted on Friday to back the legislation, a prominent reform project of Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s socially liberal governing coalition. The health minister said the government’s aim is to “fight the black market” and better protect young people. He said current laws in the European Union’s most populous nation have failed, with consumption rising and increasing problems with contaminated or overly concentrated cannabis.