Smoking cannabis is now legal in Germany • Hacker News Board

Re: Smoking cannabis is now legal in Germany

#161

Post by _ph_ » Mon, Apr 01, 2024, 11:23 AM UTC

tdudhhu wrote: post #72

While I think freedom is good, I also think there are more people destroying their lives with drugs than people who can regulate their use. I've seen so many people waste their life on weed and alcohol that I can't be very happy about this news.

Alcohol has a much more detrimental effect and still is completely legal (also: any attempt of banning it had quite bad results). So yes, some people don't handle it wisely. Lets not even get started on tobacco. Or all the other substances, which are not drugs but very bad for your health when overconsumed. Like all the sugars, unhealthy fats. Fast food.

We cannot and should not penaltize all these things just because a few cannot handle them. Rather, we should invest into helping and preventing abuse. Of all above.

Re: Smoking cannabis is now legal in Germany

#162

Post by Vaslo » Mon, Apr 01, 2024, 11:23 AM UTC

As a small l libertarian, I’m totally fine with any and all drugs being legal provided there is a clause that government doesn’t need to support you if they ruin your life.

Re: Smoking cannabis is now legal in Germany

#163

Post by refurb » Mon, Apr 01, 2024, 11:23 AM UTC

amarant wrote: post #6

spqrr wrote: post #2

Consumption of all drugs is legal in Germany. The problem is buying/selling/production, as well as simple possession. I think this is the case in most countries.

You're probably right that it's the case in most countries, but an interesting counterexample is Sweden, where testing positive on a drug test is a criminal offence. Police can arrest you for appearing to be under the influence of drugs, and if they find any traces in a urine test, they'll fine you for it. I hope that legalization in Germany will lead to more sane laws in Sweden, but honestly, I'm not holding my brea…

Even more wild is Singapore's law that it is illegal for citizens and permanent residents to consume illegal substances, even if that consumption occurred in another country where it is legal.[1]

So you have Singaporeans testing positive for cannabis upon arrival at the airport after a trip to Thailand, who are not in possession of cannabis, have not consumed it in Singapore (or another country where it is illegal) and they are charged with a crime.

[1] https://www.channelnewsasia.com/singapore/cannabis-drug-laws...

Re: Smoking cannabis is now legal in Germany

#164

Post by gardenhedge » Mon, Apr 01, 2024, 11:24 AM UTC

kredd wrote: post #87

odood wrote: post #65

I believe that overall the decision is a good one, there are no real good reasons why cannabis should be prohibited. At the same time, I strongly hope that the cannabis smokers will be considerate of the people around them. It is quite a foul smell if you are not partaking yourself.

It’s been legal since 2018, up here in Canada, and other than extreme amount of cannabis shops in every other block, it’s basically been the same as pre-legalization. People who were into it, still into it. People who didn’t still don’t. Maybe just the people who were curious but didn’t want to try it because it was illegal tried it out and joined either of the camps. I’m not the biggest fan, but as a person who enjo…

What about "new" people? If it's legal I would assume more people of new generations of people will try it

Re: Smoking cannabis is now legal in Germany

#165

Post by [deleted] » Mon, Apr 01, 2024, 11:24 AM UTC

dns_snek wrote: post #3

Nice one, Germany! Is there anything blocking the rest of EU from legalizing cannabis in this manner, aside from internal (national) politics? Whenever this topic comes up in our country, it's always met with opposition claiming that it would be against the EU regulations, or international treaties, or some other external blocker that we can't control. These reasons sound like a stall tactic given that a few EU count…

[deleted]

Re: Smoking cannabis is now legal in Germany

#166

Post by _ph_ » Mon, Apr 01, 2024, 11:25 AM UTC

antfarm wrote: post #119

About time. Weed and hash being illegal has put a large portion of my generation (German Gen Xer here) on the wrong side of the law and gave us an unnecessary deep distrust in law enforcement of any kind.

That is a very good point. The damages done to society by criminalizing something a lot of people consider a part of their life. Especially, as the harm is only on oneself.

Re: Smoking cannabis is now legal in Germany

#167

Post by qwytw » Mon, Apr 01, 2024, 11:25 AM UTC

hkwerf wrote: post #12

dns_snek wrote: post #3

Nice one, Germany! Is there anything blocking the rest of EU from legalizing cannabis in this manner, aside from internal (national) politics? Whenever this topic comes up in our country, it's always met with opposition claiming that it would be against the EU regulations, or international treaties, or some other external blocker that we can't control. These reasons sound like a stall tactic given that a few EU count…

Technically, both compatibility with EU law and international law is yet to be decided, with the international law incompatibility already being pretty obvious. In Germany, the latter incompatibility is not immediately problematic. This may be different for other countries. The former may still manifest insofar as lawsuits will be brought forward. However, we're already pretty sure that the current change in law will…

It's not like Germany is the first country in the EU to do this. Malta and Luxembourg had already legalized possession and cultivation and it's basically legal in Spain too.

And "international law" seems like a joke at this point anyway (in general, but especially regarding weed). Canada went way further with no repercussions and more importantly the US which basically forced the 1988 Convention/treaty on the rest of the world is completely flaunting it itself.

Re: Smoking cannabis is now legal in Germany

#168

Post by geraldhh » Mon, Apr 01, 2024, 11:28 AM UTC

refurb wrote: post #159

blueflow wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This tiny detail makes the difference why employer-mandated drug tests are not a thing in Germany like it is in the US.

> This tiny detail makes the difference why employer-mandated drug tests are not a thing in Germany like it is in the US. I assume that Germany does drug testing for safety-related roles? Crane operators, pilots, nuclear plant operators? It would be wild if they don't.

last nuclear plant got shutdown a few weeks ago, but, yes, drug testing is a thing (but not popular) even for some office jobs.

Re: Smoking cannabis is now legal in Germany

#169

Post by geraldhh » Mon, Apr 01, 2024, 11:31 AM UTC

antfarm wrote: post #119

About time. Weed and hash being illegal has put a large portion of my generation (German Gen Xer here) on the wrong side of the law and gave us an unnecessary deep distrust in law enforcement of any kind.

> wrong side of the law and gave us an unnecessary deep distrust in law enforcement of any kind.

healthy skepticism seems in short supply thou

Re: Smoking cannabis is now legal in Germany

#170

Post by fwn » Mon, Apr 01, 2024, 11:31 AM UTC

refurb wrote: post #159

blueflow wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This tiny detail makes the difference why employer-mandated drug tests are not a thing in Germany like it is in the US.

> This tiny detail makes the difference why employer-mandated drug tests are not a thing in Germany like it is in the US. I assume that Germany does drug testing for safety-related roles? Crane operators, pilots, nuclear plant operators? It would be wild if they don't.

AFAIK this is allowed during the approval process for very specific roles, but not just randomly in day-to-day work after admission.

And for good reason. That would be an entirely unproportional encroachment on privacy and personal rights, irrespective of whether the test turns out positive or negative.