German cops want cannabis legalised

GERMANY: The head of an organisation that represents German police officers has called for the consumption of cannabis to be ‘‘completely decriminalised’’.

Andre Schulz, head of the Association of German Criminal Officers (BDK), which has about 15,000 police detectives as members, said yesterday that he did not think the ban on the drug would remain in place in Germany for much longer.

‘‘The prohibition of cannabis has historically been seen as arbitrary and has not yet been implemented in an intelligent and effective manner,’’ Schulz said.

‘‘In the history of mankind, there has never been a society without use of drugs; this is something that has to be accepted.’’

Since last March, some patients in Germany have been allowed to get medicinal marijuana from doctors, but recreational use remains a crime.

Schulz, a police chief inspector, argued that this stigmatised people and ‘‘allows criminal careers to start’’.

Instead, he said, the country should focus on helping addicts, protecting children and young people, and promoting responsible drug use.

It is not the first time Schulz has criticised drug policy in Germany. ‘‘The ban has failed,’’ he told a conference in Berlin last November.

Last month, he told the Hamburger Morgenpost newspaper that the fight against drugs caught the wrong people and used up too much police manpower.

‘‘In 70 per cent of drug cases, police deal with consumers, not with dealers,’’ he said.

A study carried out by Forsa, a research institute, in November found that most German respondents didn’t want the recreational use of cannabis to be legalised.

Schulz does want driving after consuming cannabis to remain an offence, but he pointed to current ‘‘uncertainties and loopholes in the law’’ for motorists.

Cannabis users in Germany can have their licence taken away even if they have not driven while intoxicated, which is not the case for alcohol.