Why is CBD flower illegal in Germany?
Why is CBD flower a narcotic in Germany, when it’s sold in shops and cafes in most EU countries? Germany has violently prosecuted CBD flower for the last five or six years. Can Germany sudddenly says- “Oh we made a mistake, CBD is harmless”.
If a court decides that CBD flower is legal and the German state has illegaly prosecuting people for selling CBD flower, then the German state will have to pay large amounts of compensation. Could this be why German prosecutors continue to claim hemp products are narcotics – so as to avoid liabilty?
This situation was made noticeable in a Gruenderszene article. The prosecutor seemed very concerned that if a court made CBD flower legal then the prosecutors office must pay procedural costs and compensation to the accused (Bunte Blüte) for wrongful arrest. Bunte Blüte is a CBD startup selling CBD flower in Berlin shops.
“The Berlin public prosecutor’s office has already lodged a complaint against the court’s decision, as Senior Public Prosecutor …… confirmed to Gründerszene. If the complaint is rejected, the state of Berlin would have to cover the previous procedural costs and also the expenses of the Bunte-Blüte founders.’” (2)
https://www.businessinsider.de/gruenderszene/perspektive/bunte-bluete-rauschgifthandel-berliner-justiz-streitet-um-cbd-startup.
If the Berlin prosecutors have in fact prosecuted illegally, then they must put things right. Prosecuting the wrong person is expensive and should Bunte Blüte founders pay for the Berlin prosecutors mistake?
Paying damages to people who have been incorrectly prosecuted is complicated and costly. What is the price for shutting down profitable businesses? How much does the prosecutors department pay for breaking down doors, pointing guns at people’s heads and confiscating money and property: for intimidating and harassing innocent people? No one really knows but it sounds expensive.
Lidl supermarkets were forced by the prosecutors department to remove CBD and hemp products from stores across Germany. Lidl had planned to put CBD products in over 3000 stores Germany wide. What happens if the prosecutors office is held liable for repaying this lost income. They probably don’t have a budget large enough to repay this and It becomes clear why the prosecutors office has an interest in CBD flower remaining illegal, and why, when the Berlin Court says CBD flower is legal the prosecutors office needs this decision to be reversed.
https://businessofcannabis.com/lidl-signs-million-dollar-deal-to-sell-cannabis-products/https://cannabishealthnews.co.uk/2021/08/20/police-raid-lidl-in-bavaria-over-cbd-cookies/
Repaying Lidl is expensive. What happens when the thousands of other CBD retailers that have suffered loss, file for compensation. No one knows how much it will cost to compensate these businesses. How much will the Berlin prosecutors office and the Hamburg prosecuters office and the Munich prosecutors office and the Frankfurt prosecutors office – need to repay – if it’s shown the prosecutors departments have behaved illegally or even incorrectly? No one knows but it sounds expensive.
Is it possible the prosecutors office don’t want to admit they have made a mistake, thus discrediting the prosecutors office? Professionals pride as it were. Perhaps this affects CBD trials being held currently, prosecutors do not want to acknowledge they have interpreted the law incorrectly to avoid compensation payouts and retain professional pride?
There are reasons we can see why it would be convenient if CBD flower remains illegal in Germany. The Berlin Court made a great decision which was immediately overturned by Leipzig. The Berlin prosecutor appealed two times against the Berlin Court, he pushed and pushed hard until he got the Berlin decision overturned and a conviction against Bunte Blüte – a decision that seems wrong. Should prosecutors need to work so hard to get a guilty conviction or should the court processes be allowed to work by themselves to provide the best outcome they find.
Eventually a CBD flower case will be judged at EU level and the truth will come out about the legality of CBD flower in Germany. Until then German citizens are forced to endure the punishments and humiliation from outdated German law, and denied the freedoms of European Union law. How long can German courts prevent a CBD flower case reaching the European Union Court. So far they have managed by using hypothetical arguments and refusing EU interference but it is anticipated soon there will be a reckoning.
(2) Ibid.
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