Luxembourg legalises growing and using of cannabis in EU first

LUXEMBOURG has become the first country in Europe to legalise the production and consumption of cannabis in a move designed to keep users away from the dangers of the illicit drug market.

The government yesterday announced that adults would be allowed to grow up to four cannabis plants in their homes and gardens as part of an overhauled approach to recreational drug use in the country.

The move legalises the trade in and possession of cannabis seeds, which people will be allowed to buy in shops, online or import from abroad.

A ban on the consumption and transport of cannabis and cannabis products, excluding seeds, in public will remain in place.

Sam Tamson, Luxembourg’s justice minister, said the change to the law on domestic production and consumption was a “first step” of more fundamental changes to the country’s handling of cannabis to keep users away from the illegal market.

Under a softening of the law, the consumption and transport of a quantity of the drug up to three grams will no longer be considered a criminal offence, but will be classified as a misdemeanour.

Fines would be reduced to as little as €25 (£21) for possession of less than three grams, down from €251 to €2,500.

“Above three grams, nothing changes; you will be considered a dealer,” said Mr Tamson. “Nothing changes for car drivers either: there is still zero tolerance.”

Government sources said the policy shift was driven by a desire to liberalise consumption and production “within one’s own four walls”.

The move was part of a coalition deal struck between the liberals, social democrats and the greens in 2018, pushed by their youth wings.

The government said it intended to develop a system of state-regulated production and distribution to ensure product quality, with profits from sales to be invested “primarily in prevention, education and healthcare in the broad field of addiction”.

Luxembourg joins Uruguay, which became the first country to create a legalised market for cannabis in 2013, and Canada, which followed suit in 2018.

In the Netherlands, the European country most renowned for its relaxed attitudes toward cannabis, recreational use, possession and trade in the drug is technically illegal, but there is a “tolerance policy” within boundaries.

‘Above 3g, nothing changes, you will be considered a dealer. Nothing changes for car drivers either’