Germany Just Legalized Recreational Marijuana, All of Europe Will Soon Follow!

If you are just waking up to the cannabis news of the day, it is that Germany has reached an agreement for full recreational marijuana use as a country, which means all of Europe will soon follow in a domino fashion. If you are not familiar with Germany’s role in Europe due to their economic powerhouse and the strength of the Germany currency, they are the economic Lebron James or Jordan of Europe. As the saying goes, "When Germany sneezes, the rest of Europe catches a cold." They run the financial show, they have the largest GDP, biggest say in the Euro banking system, and decide who gets what in the European union bailout and bail-in models. Remember, they said “yes” to saving Greece, but said “no” to saving Cyprus banks and all the Russian money in those banks.

Bloomberg hinted about 10 days a ago that the recreational marijuana deal was in the works:

Germany’s likely next ruling coalition is closing in on a deal to legalize cannabis for recreational use, the strongest signal yet that long-awaited growth of Europe’s marijuana market is gaining traction.

Negotiators for the Social Democrats, Greens and pro-business Free Democrats are hammering out the details, including conditions under which the sale and use of recreational cannabis would be allowed and regulated, according to people familiar with the talks, who asked not to be identified because the discussions are private.

As in all legalization cases, the Police union in Germany is against legalization while Germany follows their neighbor, Luxembourg, who recently initiated legal recreational cannabis reform. The isle nation of Guernsey could follow next in short order.

As Politico is reporting:

The center-left Social Democrats (SPD), the Greens and the liberal Free Democrats (FDP) plan to "introduce the regulated sale of cannabis to adults for consumption purposes in licensed stores," according to the health group's findings paper cited in the media. This ensures quality control, prevents the distribution of contaminated products, and guarantees the protection of minors, it said. However, it is not yet clear whether the cultivation of cannabis within Germany will also be legalized.

How much is at stake for Germany as far as newfound tax revenue? It is estimated that Germany could generate an addiction 4.7 billion Euros for the country. While Germany claims it is not concerned about the revenue from cannabis taxes, it is a nice bonus for legalization.

Because of Germany’s role in the EU, the assumption is that Europe now see a domino effect of legalization in short order as needed tax revenue, maybe not in Germany per say, but all the southern European countries that are not economic powerhouses like Germany will desperately need to create that new tax revenue. Greece has made strides to be a net exporter of cannabis and is trying to catch the new Green Wave for jobs as well as tax revenue.

We shall see in the next 6 to 8 weeks as this news breaks today if other European countries move up recreational legalization, and if in any way, it forces the US to move up their slow pace of legalization. The Republican’s cannabis legalization bill may pick up momentum if Europe embraces recreational cannabis and sets its’ eyes on being a net exporter of marijuana around the globe. Places like Kentucky, where anti-pot Senator Mitch McConnell hail from, would want to hit the ground running as far as growing cannabis and becoming a net exporter to not only other states, but also countries. As mentioned in this Cannabis.net piece, Kentucky could become a “destination grower” for consumers around the world.

If you think Italy, Romania, Bulgaria, and the Ukraine are just going to sit around and do nothing, I have some farmland in Bucharest to sell you...

Stay tuned, the rest of Europe has been served notice by Germany.