First in Europe: the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg authorizes the use and cultivation of cannabis
The small country has decided to completely decriminalize the use and possession of cannabis for adults, as well as its cultivation, up to four plants per household, according to an announcement by the Grand-Ducal government. A way to cut the grass from under the feet of the traffickers.
It’s not a long-held opinion that banning policies don’t work, no matter what product is affected, users will always find a way to get hold of them. For the greatest profits of traffickers and other smugglers, sometimes ready to use violence to defend and grow their business.
In general, keeping in force a ban and a repressive system against consumers is not worth the effort, especially for easily accessible and low-risk products such as cannabis. The Grand Duchy of Luxembourg has therefore just taken a completely opposite path: the government announced on Friday that it would totally legalize Indian hemp in its territory.
It is not only the use of cannabis that will be decriminalized, but also the harvest for personal purposes: Luxembourgers aged 18 and over can grow up to four plants per household, as long as they are less intended for one. personal consumption. As for the seeds that would allow these plants to grow, they will also be fully legalized, without criteria of variety or THC level. They could be sold commercially, but also be traded or bought on the Web.
Domestic consumption
The assumed objective of the Luxembourg government is to thwart cannabis smuggling, which involves enormous sums of money and which is sometimes linked to more dangerous trafficking. The country wants, if not to encourage, to remove all obstacles to the purely domestic and personal consumption of cannabis, which could undermine the smuggling networks.
With such an announcement, the Grand Duchy will become the most permissive country in Europe for everything related to cannabis. In the Netherlands, often taken as a benchmark on the issue, the government has devised a policy on drugs that tolerate smoking cannabis, under very strict conditions, which does not amount to full legalization. Consumption is admittedly tolerated, but a special license is required to sell in stores. The country has also validated an experimental cannabis cultivation plan controlled by the State, which will come into force this year.
A green enclave in Europe
Conversely, other European countries like France are persisting in a hard prohibition, while the illegal cannabis trade represents a very important part of the underground economy, employing 150,000 to 200,000 people and representing a figure of business of 1.2 billion euros in 2017. As for Belgium, it oscillates according to the governments between relative tolerance and reminder of the law: cannabis remain forbidden in the kingdom, but in practice possession “for personal use” is unlikely to be prosecuted, unless such detention is accompanied by aggravating circumstances or disturbance of public order. The unofficial limit is 3 grams on oneself or a plant at home, but we must not forget that everything will depend on the interpretation of the police. In other words, our country also leaves the production and trade of grass to the underground economy.
It is difficult to predict how the Grand Duchy will manage its legalization policy with less permissive neighbors, but whose populations might want to supply themselves in Luxembourg. It is also a potential tourist advantage for the country, even if the Canadian precedent, where this boom in the sector flopped, should serve as a warning.
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