Germany, new law on cannabis driving: limits and penalties

Since 1 April this year, adults (over 18) in Germany may possess and use marijuana: they may have 50 grams at home and 25 grams outside the home. How to cultivate or obtain cannabis, however, is not easy, as one must only do so through specialised and highly regulated 'clubs'.

Therefore, a further step forward is already being considered: allowing pharmacies to sell marijuana without a prescription. Wiesbaden, the capital of Hessen, has applied as a model city: the sale in pharmacies would initially be restricted to residents only, but a decision has not yet been made and in any case the ultimate goal is to establish this new opportunity nationwide.

Those who drive a car in Germany, however, can now rest assured at least on the marijuana front: there is no discrimination between the partial legalisation of cannabis and the partial use of alcohol for drivers, subject to appropriate restrictions.

As for another limit, the speed limit on motorways, the time is not yet ripe in Germany. Despite the fact that the green transition in the fight against climate change is underway and the slow spread of electric cars has begun, on some stretches of motorway in Germany drivers can continue to speed without speed limits. The plan to introduce a maximum speed limit of 130 kilometres per hour throughout Germany still remains in the drawer. A double-locked drawer.