Cannabis Social Club

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A Cannabis Social Club is a model project proposed in 2005 by the pan-European organization ENCOD to enable legal cultivation and distribution of cannabis as an intoxicant to adults. A Cannabis Social Club is a non-commercial association that organizes the professional, collective cultivation of a limited amount of cannabis in order to meet the personal needs of adult club members.

Such clubs operate according to the following rules:

  • Cultivation, transport, distribution and consumption are subject to security checks and quality controls.
  • Advertisements such as shop signs or shop windows are not permitted.
  • The members secure the finances of the system through membership fees according to their needs.
  • There must be no cannabis trade. Members must undertake not to sell cannabis or to encourage third parties, especially minors, to use it.

In contrast to the Cannabis Buyers Clubs widespread in the USA , Cannabis Social Clubs are not limited to the medical use of cannabis as a medicinal product .

Distribution and legal situation

Cannabis social clubs in Europe exist in Spain , Belgium and the Netherlands . In addition, in Austria , France, Germany , Italy, Slovenia and other countries, but here anonymously and illegalized by threat of punishment.

A discussion has been going on in Switzerland since the beginning of 2014 about the introduction of cannabis social clubs as a state project for the distribution of cannabis. As of January 19, 2014, a bipartisan group from Geneva announced that they wanted to legalize smoking in the Cannabis Social Club model. As the "Rundschau" reports, the group wants to push through the project with "civil disobedience" without the consent of the federal government. The Geneva idea also met with great interest in the city of Zurich. On March 15, 2014, the city of Bern announced that it would like to participate in the planned Cannabis Social Club project in Geneva. On March 18, 2014, the Tagesanzeiger reported that Winterthur would like to take part in such a model project. On March 20, 2014, the Tages Woche announced that Basel would also try such a delivery. On April 9, 2014, the National Working Group on Addiction Policy NAS-CPA published a basic paper that outlines today's drug policy as inadequate. The analysis presented therein shows for the first time with figures that new approaches are required for a sustainable Swiss drug policy. The results support the cities that want to dispense cannabis in a controlled manner.

The cultivation of low- THC industrial hemp is notifiable in Germany. The cultivation, processing and transport of cannabis with a high THC content for medical and scientific purposes are subject to approval in Germany. One possibility of legitimation would be to apply for an exemption for the association from the Federal Ministry of Drugs in accordance with Section 3 (2) BtMG. Furthermore, § 31a BtMG provides the possibility to refrain from prosecution if there is personal need.

Discussion booth

For the first time, the concept of the Cannabis Social Club was submitted to the then drug commissioner of the federal government, Sabine Bätzing . Cannabis social clubs could be judged as “definitely contributing to prevention” if this is not connected with the aim of promoting the cultivation of cannabis.

At the 9th International Acceptance Congress from September 24th to 26th, 2009 in Frankfurt am Main , Georg Wurth from the German Hemp Association spoke about cannabis social clubs in the seminar "Models and successfully practiced control alternatives: drug shops and cannabis social clubs, control alternatives and legalization models" lectured.

On August 5, 2011, Cannabis Social Clubs were incorporated into the addiction policy program of the Pirate Party in Berlin for the 2011 parliamentary elections.

On January 25, 2012, the Bundestag Health Committee held a hearing on the subject of "Legalizing cannabis through the introduction of cannabis clubs" on the initiative of the DIE LINKE parliamentary group . Cannabis social clubs were mentioned in the application as a community planting option. The other parties in the Bundestag, with the exception of the Greens , were critical of the motion.

On June 8, 2013, an information meeting was held in Berlin's KuBiz, attended by cannabis patients and interested citizens. Speakers were Joep Oomen (ENCOD), Pastor Michael Kleim (Schildower Kreis) and Maximilian Plenert (DHV).

At the 10th International Acceptance Congress in Bielefeld in October 2013 with the focus on "Health and Social Consequences of Drug Prohibition Acceptance Congress 2013", Joep Oomen (ENCOD) gave a lecture about the experiences of clubs in other countries.

In 2013, the German Hemp Association started a campaign for citizens' petitions with the aim of establishing municipal model projects for the sale of cannabis. According to the Narcotics Act, Article 3, Paragraph 2, it explicitly permits exemptions "for scientific or other purposes in the public interest". So every citizen in his community can submit such a petition. Such petitions were among others in Memmingen, Heidelberg, Münster and Bad Schussenried.

The hemp magazine THCene discussed in the article "Coffeeshops vs. Cannabis Social Clubs" the advantages and disadvantages of both models in an idealized legal market. The author comes to the conclusion that in a legal market, the cannabis social clubs would come into question primarily for people who want to have complete control over the cannabis dispensed, from seeding to growth, production and harvest.

Social and health policy assessment

A study of the San Francisco Cannabis Club shows that patients at this club not only benefit from the health benefits of cannabis flowers, but that the social aspects of the club are also very important. The author concludes that among the many proposed delivery methods, the cannabis clubs are the best therapeutic setting.

Addiction policy assessment

The 2/2014 issue of SuchtMagazin dealt with safer use with regard to cannabis. From the perspective of harm reduction, this approach offers the possibility of quality control of the cannabis sold and of reducing the potential for harm to health. In addition to providing information and advice, the clubs also have a social control function. In this way, the concerns of selective prevention as well as the early detection of problematic consumption can be met.

In a request from 2009 to the then drug commissioner of the German federal government, Sabine Bätzing , a request for the cannabis social clubs was assessed as "could definitely contribute to prevention" if it was not connected with the goal of promoting home-growing cannabis.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Cannabis Social Clubs Germany: Code of Conduct for Hemp Growing Associations , December 2011
  2. ↑ Hanf Journal: Spain: Legal proceedings against cannabis cultivation clubs suspended! , December 13, 2006
  3. ↑ Hanf Journal: acquittal for "Trekt Uw Plant" , March 15, 2010
  4. ↑ Reuters: Dutch city wants a cannabis social club , March 11, 2011
  5. ↑ de Gelderlander: Ook Nederland heeft nu een cannabis social club ( Memento of the original from December 5, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , November 29, 2041  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.gelderlander.nl
  6. ↑ Hanf Journal: A Cannabis Social Club for Salzburg , March 31, 2014
  7. ↑ Hemp Journal: Cannabis Social Clubs in France at Risk
  8. ↑ Hemp Journal: The Eastside Growers , March 11, 2011
  9. ↑ Medicine patient association La Piantiamo, grow! Magazine p. 50ff, issue 4/14
  10. ↑ Medijuana Magazine: "I owe my life to the ganja" , February 5, 2014
  11. ↑ Cannabis clubs: Geneva wants civil disobedience , January 15, 2014
  12. ↑ NZZ: Legal smoking weed in the Cannabis Club , January 17, 2014
  13. ↑ Bern wants to legalize the purchase of hemp for a limited period , March 13, 2014
  14. ↑ Tagesanzeiger: In Winterthur weed smoking should be exempt from punishment , March 18, 2014
  15. ↑ Tages Woche: Basel also wants to partially legalize cannabis , March 20, 2014
  16. ↑ Market regulation in drug policy - basic position of the National Working Group on Addiction Policy NAS-CPA ( Memento of the original from March 4, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , April 8, 2014, PDF, 22p., 330Kb  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / fachverbandsucht.ch
  17. ↑ Hanf Journal: Application for an exemption according to Section 3 (2) BtMG
  18. ↑ §31a BtMG
  19. ↑ Inquiry on Cannabis Social Clubs from April 24, 2009 ( Memento of the original from June 22, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. On parliamentary watch to the drug commissioner Sabine Bätzing  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.abektivenwatch.de
  20. ^ Program of the congress of accept eV Federal Association for Accepting Drug Work and Humane Drug Policy
  21. ↑ Videos from the presentation on cannabis cultivation associations
  22. ↑ Addiction policy election program of the Pirate Party Berlin , as of August 2011.
  23. ^ Matthias Thieme: Analysis of the Pirate Party: Pirates - the somewhat different program party. September 22, 2011, accessed January 8, 2014 .
  24. ↑ Bundestag printed paper 17/7196 - “Legalization of cannabis through the introduction of cannabis clubs” (PDF; 64 kB), motion by MPs Frank Tempel, Dr. Martina Bunge, Jan Korte, other MPs and the DIE LINKE parliamentary group
  25. ↑ Video of the hearing "Legalization of cannabis through the introduction of cannabis clubs" on Bundestag television
  26. ↑ Hearing on the legalization of cannabis - Committee on Health - January 25, 2012 ( Memento of the original of December 28, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.bundestag.de
  27. ↑ 62nd Meeting of the Health Committee, public hearing on the motion of several MPs to legalize cannabis through the establishment of cannabis clubs; BT printed matter 17/7196. (PDF, 217 kB) (No longer available online.) January 25, 2012, archived from the original on January 20, 2013 ; Retrieved December 16, 2012 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.bundestag.de
  28. ↑ Basil Wegener: Expert hearing in the Bundestag - Die Linke calls for cannabis clubs. In: Stern.de . January 24, 2012, accessed January 8, 2014 .
  29. ↑ “Cannabis Social Club” workshop in Berlin June 2013, Michael Kleim ( Memento of the original from October 2, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.schildower-kreis.de
  30. ^ Recording of the CSC meeting in Berlin in the Kubiz
  31. ↑ Acceptance Congress 2013: Cannabis Social Clubs - how does it work?
  32. ↑ Deutscher Hanf Verband: Information about the campaign for municipal model projects for cannabis distribution
  33. ↑ grow !: A cannabis social club for Memmingen? ( Memento of the original from June 29, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , dated June 2, 2015  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / grow.de
  34. ↑ grow !: Heidelberg: Cannabis Social Club discussion goes into the second round ( memento of the original from June 29, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , from July 15, 2015  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.grow.de
  35. ↑ grow !: Citizens' application for a Cannabis Social Club in Münster submitted ( memento of the original from June 29, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , dated April 7, 2014  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / grow.de
  36. ^ German Hemp Association: Petition No. 1 - Bad Schussenried in Baden-Württemberg , from August 21, 2013
  37. ↑ Kimo: Coffee shops vs. Cannabis Social Clubs- two cannabis control approaches under the microscope (printed in issue 02/2015). (No longer available online.) In: THCene . 2015, archived from the original on August 16, 2016 ; Retrieved June 29, 2016 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / thcene.com
  38. ↑ HW Feldman, J. Mandel: Providing medical marijuana: the importance of cannabis clubs. In: Journal of psychoactive drugs. Volume 30, Number 2, 1998 Apr-Jun, pp. 179-186, doi: 10.1080 / 02791072.1998.10399688 , PMID 9692380 .
  39. ↑ "Harm Reduction and Cannabis: Is Safer Use Possible?" Alexander Bücheli, SuchtMagazin, issue 2/2014, Switzerland
  40. ↑ Inquiry on Cannabis Social Clubs from April 24, 2009 ( Memento of the original from June 22, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. On parliamentary watch to the drug commissioner Sabine Bätzing  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.abektivenwatch.de

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