Deutschlands Cannabis Dilemma

The German government plans to legalize the consumption of cannabis for recreational purposes. According to the new government coalition, the soft drug will soon be sold to adults in licensed stores. Germany, thus, follows an interna-tional legalization trend initiated by Canada, Uruguay and the USA. In these countries the cultivation, trade and sale of cannabis for recreational purposes is already permitted. In recent years, some EU countries have established various models of decriminalization and tolerance of cannabis. Based on the Dutch tolerance policy, this article analyzes different options for legalization and examines to what ex-tent they can be implemented in Germany. It explains that a comprehensive legalization of cannabis under German law remains difficult. The principle of mandatory prosecution is an obstacle to any attempts of a far-reaching tolerance poli-cy towards cannabis cultivation. After all, international and European law clearly stand in the way of a total legaliza-tion, particularly of the cultivation and trade. Germany faces a dilemma: should it take the path of legalization, which is reasonable from a criminological point of view, and accept breaking international and European law? Or should the ambitious plans shrink to a legalization-light, limited to the private cultivation of cannabis for personal consump-tion