Germany’s groundbreaking cannabis legalization law, effective from April 1st, has a provision for retroactive application. This means that individuals imprisoned for possessing up to 25 grams of cannabis should be eligible for release. However, according to data obtained by IPPEN.MEDIA, only a handful of prisoners have actually been set free.
Bavaria has released the most prisoners, with 33 individuals freed, followed by Baden-Württemberg with 19 releases. While North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany’s most populous state, has reportedly reviewed the most files, the ministry couldn’t provide specific data on the number of releases.
This limited number of releases contradicts the argument often used by opponents of cannabis legalization, who claim that it will lead to a surge of criminals back on the streets. It’s important to note that many individuals imprisoned for substance offenses have multiple convictions and were not incarcerated solely for possession of small amounts of cannabis.
One particularly controversial case involved a 36-year-old man who smuggled 450 kilograms of cannabis into Germany. The new law considers cannabis-related crimes less serious, preventing prosecutors from using encrypted chat data as evidence. This led to the man’s release and prompted criticism from Baden-Württemberg’s Justice Minister, who argued that drug dealers are benefitting from the new law.
Prior to the law’s enactment, justice ministers from various states advocated for a delay due to the anticipated workload on the judiciary. They predicted thousands of cases seeking retroactive amnesty or expungement, with Lower Saxony alone anticipating over 16,000 files. Since the postponement failed, the judiciary has been inundated with files, with an estimated 200,000 requiring manual review. The process is complex, as some amnesty cases fall fully or partially under the new law, requiring careful assessment.
The sheer volume of files has placed an enormous burden on the judiciary, with Bavarian prosecutors alone tasked with reviewing approximately 41,500 paper files. Despite the challenges, the judiciary expects the workload to decrease as more prisoners are released under the new law.
It remains to be seen how the full implementation of Germany’s cannabis legalization law will play out, but the initial data raises questions about its impact and highlights the complex challenges faced by the judiciary in adapting to a new legal framework.
