6 ms·

So it becomes technically legal, but they put so many obstacles in your way that buying illegally will hardly lose attraction. Cannabis dealers won't go out of

So it becomes technically legal, but they put so many obstacles in your way that buying illegally will hardly lose attraction. Cannabis dealers won't go out of work any time soon.

m0llusk 3y ago
Likely true, and reminds me of an amusing and revealing story. There was a craft brewery that started to become popular and had to hire a relatively large number of employees to run the operation. Word got out that nearly everyone who worked there used cannabis, so police got an investigator to spy by getting hired to work in the brewery. They repeatedly asked other employees if they could buy cannabis from them, but every time the employees responded by freely sharing cannabis. Much cannabis culture is not strongly commercial. People grow and share. Maybe there is something in that which software developers could learn from.
- ilc 3y ago
  Maybe a bit more GPL use would help here. :)
- pixl97 3y ago
  I mean even a small operation can grow more than one person can ever smoke in their lifetime in short order. Any other commercial crop that we grow at scale is sold in the dollars per ton range. Outside of a few special cultivars there is no practical reason said drug is expensive and easily shareable for nearly free.
- hulitu 3y ago
  > People grow and share. Maybe there is something in that which software developers could learn from. The main problem with most SW developers is that they never learn. That's why we have CADT, Windows 10 and 11, Android, Systemd, Wayland, UEFI etc.
fabian2k 3y ago
In the end this is more of a compromise that was still politically feasible. Depending on who governs in the future this will likely be either expanded or rolled back. Parts of this also depend on some EU regulations that might have to be changed for full legalization to be possible.
- tfourb 3y ago
  The EU regulation was the central obstacle. It does not allow for commercial legalization of Cannabis beyond small trial projects. Originally, commercial legalization was the core of the German proposal, but it had to be revamped to only private and non-profit legalization because of legal concerns connected with EU law.
  - wickedwiesel 3y ago
    I am not a legal expert but I read that the case of the Netherlands proves this to be at least partially wrong. Retail sale is legal. Some municipalities have legalized supply chains. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-09-11/the-netherlands-plan-to-legalize-cannabis-growing https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-09-11/the-nethe...
personomas 3y ago
And they'll probably tax the shit out of it #germany
- eqvinox 3y ago
  There is actually no tax on it (… in the current law) (You obviously still need to manage VAT if your business exceeds 22'000€/50'000€ per year.)
  - mytailorisrich 3y ago
    So no tax except 19% VAT and about 30% corporate income tax...
    - pantalaimon 3y ago
      no, it's not allowed to sell it commercially, so no VAT. You can only obtain it through clubs for a fee to cover the production cost.
      - mytailorisrich 3y ago
        Oh OK. So it's not fully legalised then...
- alleskleber 3y ago
  The tax revenue from commerical sales was one of the big pro arguments before they had to cancel/deley those plans due to EU/international laws.
  - personomas 3y ago
    Ah great addition thank you for your comment. I love your name by the way. I wonder what EU/international laws prevent that
    - hoffs 3y ago
r0ckarong 3y ago
Biggest thing is that you can now at least legally possess it. They never cared where it came from before either. Smoking it isn't illegal, just somehow buying it and having it. Truly an insane situation. Now at least you can own a reasonable amount of weed without being in this absurd limbo.
- f6v 3y ago
  Possession has been tolerated for a long time now. You can’t walk through a city and not smell weed. AFAIK the tolerable limit was 5g, a person should seek help if they need more than that on them.
  - echoangle 3y ago
    Depends on the location, don’t try that in Bavaria
  - throw_0815 3y ago
    That very much depends on the Bundesland where that city is located. Good luck doing that in Munich. Personally I got prosecuted for (ordering!) 3g of weed, although later that got folded. Still trouble, though. Also I can still get problems with my driving license for that same amount (even though that alleged possession was in no way connected with driving any vehicle).
  - throwbadubadu 3y ago
    Why, you also only ever buy one liter of milk, and otherwise should seek counsel? Orn lets make it less abstract and say one sixpack of beer?
  - weaksauce 3y ago
    an ounce is about 14 grams. 5 is slightly more than an eighth. if you don’t live near the dispensary and want some for a month or a few months an eighth is not really that much. i don’t think seeking help is an appropriate response here.
    - 3y ago
mbar84 3y ago
Possession is not illegal anymore. My understanding is, that police now cannot use mere possession as a pretense for searches of your car or home. If true, this is great progress from a civil liberties perspective.
- hulitu 3y ago
  Don't forget about your phone. /s

So it becomes technically legal, but they put so many obstacles in your way that buying illegally will hardly lose attraction. Cannabis dealers won't go out of work any time soon.

m0llusk 3y ago

Likely true, and reminds me of an amusing and revealing story. There was a craft brewery that started to become popular and had to hire a relatively large number of employees to run the operation. Word got out that nearly everyone who worked there used cannabis, so police got an investigator to spy by getting hired to work in the brewery. They repeatedly asked other employees if they could buy cannabis from them, but every time the employees responded by freely sharing cannabis. Much cannabis culture is not strongly commercial. People grow and share. Maybe there is something in that which software developers could learn from.

ilc 3y ago
Maybe a bit more GPL use would help here. :)
pixl97 3y ago
I mean even a small operation can grow more than one person can ever smoke in their lifetime in short order. Any other commercial crop that we grow at scale is sold in the dollars per ton range. Outside of a few special cultivars there is no practical reason said drug is expensive and easily shareable for nearly free.
hulitu 3y ago
> People grow and share. Maybe there is something in that which software developers could learn from. The main problem with most SW developers is that they never learn. That's why we have CADT, Windows 10 and 11, Android, Systemd, Wayland, UEFI etc.

fabian2k 3y ago

In the end this is more of a compromise that was still politically feasible. Depending on who governs in the future this will likely be either expanded or rolled back. Parts of this also depend on some EU regulations that might have to be changed for full legalization to be possible.

tfourb 3y ago
The EU regulation was the central obstacle. It does not allow for commercial legalization of Cannabis beyond small trial projects. Originally, commercial legalization was the core of the German proposal, but it had to be revamped to only private and non-profit legalization because of legal concerns connected with EU law.
- wickedwiesel 3y ago
  I am not a legal expert but I read that the case of the Netherlands proves this to be at least partially wrong. Retail sale is legal. Some municipalities have legalized supply chains. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-09-11/the-netherlands-plan-to-legalize-cannabis-growing https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-09-11/the-nethe...

personomas 3y ago

And they'll probably tax the shit out of it #germany

eqvinox 3y ago
There is actually no tax on it (… in the current law) (You obviously still need to manage VAT if your business exceeds 22'000€/50'000€ per year.)
- mytailorisrich 3y ago
  So no tax except 19% VAT and about 30% corporate income tax...
  - pantalaimon 3y ago
    no, it's not allowed to sell it commercially, so no VAT. You can only obtain it through clubs for a fee to cover the production cost.
    - mytailorisrich 3y ago
      Oh OK. So it's not fully legalised then...
alleskleber 3y ago
The tax revenue from commerical sales was one of the big pro arguments before they had to cancel/deley those plans due to EU/international laws.
- personomas 3y ago
  Ah great addition thank you for your comment. I love your name by the way. I wonder what EU/international laws prevent that
  - hoffs 3y ago

r0ckarong 3y ago

Biggest thing is that you can now at least legally possess it. They never cared where it came from before either. Smoking it isn't illegal, just somehow buying it and having it. Truly an insane situation. Now at least you can own a reasonable amount of weed without being in this absurd limbo.

f6v 3y ago
Possession has been tolerated for a long time now. You can’t walk through a city and not smell weed. AFAIK the tolerable limit was 5g, a person should seek help if they need more than that on them.
- echoangle 3y ago
  Depends on the location, don’t try that in Bavaria
- throw_0815 3y ago
  That very much depends on the Bundesland where that city is located. Good luck doing that in Munich. Personally I got prosecuted for (ordering!) 3g of weed, although later that got folded. Still trouble, though. Also I can still get problems with my driving license for that same amount (even though that alleged possession was in no way connected with driving any vehicle).
- throwbadubadu 3y ago
  Why, you also only ever buy one liter of milk, and otherwise should seek counsel? Orn lets make it less abstract and say one sixpack of beer?
- weaksauce 3y ago
  an ounce is about 14 grams. 5 is slightly more than an eighth. if you don’t live near the dispensary and want some for a month or a few months an eighth is not really that much. i don’t think seeking help is an appropriate response here.
  - 3y ago

mbar84 3y ago

Possession is not illegal anymore. My understanding is, that police now cannot use mere possession as a pretense for searches of your car or home. If true, this is great progress from a civil liberties perspective.

hulitu 3y ago
Don't forget about your phone. /s