Date: 30 Jul 1994 19:08:17 -0000
From: [Carl E  Olsen] at [commonlink.com] (Carl E. Olsen)
Subject: Germany decriminalizes marijuana
Newsgroups: alt.drugs

WORLD
Germany decriminalizes marijuana
The Associated Press
	BONN, Germany -- A ruling by Germany's highest court that decriminalizes the
possession of small amounts of marijuana and hashish is provoking a national
debate over whether the use of heroin and cocaine will increase as a result.
	The Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe last Thursday did not go so far as to
classify marijuana and hashish on the same level with tobacco and alcohol,
and said use of drugs remains in principle punishable by law.
	But it said possession of small amounts of marijuana and hashish for private
consumption should not be prosecuted because the drugs are less dangerous
that law authorities once assumed.
	The court told each of Germany's 16 states to agree among themselves what
constitutes a "small amount."
	The ruling means that as long as users of pot or hash don't try to sell the
drugs, they don't have to worry about police bursting into their homes with
arrest warrants.
	That puts Germany's stance closer to that of its neighbor, the Netherlands,
where people can buy marijuana and hashish in shops.
	The decision was prompted by a 1991 case in which a Luebeck woman was
brought to trial for trying to sneak a small amount of hashish into the cell
of her jailed husband.  The judge in Luebeck discontinued the trial, saying
smoking hashish is no worse than drinking alcohol, and then asked that the
Karlsruhe court take a stand.
	Conservative politicians say more people will turn to hard drugs because of
the Constitutional Court's decision.
	Germany has a serious problem with heroin and cocaine abuse.  A total of
1.738 people died of drug overdoses last year.  Addicts loitering in train
stations are a common sight.  Used syringes litter parks.
	But liberals say use of pot and hash does not inevitably lead to harder
drugs, and that it's wrong to treat people who use them like criminals.
	Guenther Beckstein, the No. 2 Interior Ministry official in Bavaria, a state
that is tough on criminals, said the ruling sends the "wrong signal" to
youths who go to parties and wonder whether to go ahead and take their first
puff on a marijuana joint.
	"Cannabis is the starting point for two-thirds of all the people who die
from drug overdoses," he said.
	But Christine Hohmann-Dennhardt, justice minister for Hesse state, said
decriminalizing marijuana and hashish will make youths more willing to
discuss drugs, and make it easier for parents and teachers to steer them away
from heroin and cocaine.

	The Hawk Eye, Wednesday, May 4, 1994, Page 6A.

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