Due to the German government's strictness on cannabis, even after it is legalised, purchasing and selling will be challenging

On Friday, the German parliament passed a bill authorising the personal use and restricted cultivation of cannabis, with an April start date. After a great deal of ups and downs, the Parliamentary debate ultimately decided in favour of this.

Before the vote, Health Minister Carl Lauterbach called on members of parliament to support the controversial legislation, arguing that "the situation we are in right now is in no way acceptable."

Many aspects have been added under the new law. Under this, it will be possible to obtain up to 25 grams of the drug per day for personal use through regulated hemp cultivation associations. Along with this, it will also be possible to plant a maximum of three plants at home. However, anyone under the age of 18 will remain prohibited from possessing and using cannabis.

"Germany has seen a rapid increase in the number of young people using cannabis obtained from the black market," said Lauterbach, a member of Chancellor Olaf Scholz's Social Democrats.

At the same time, Simon Borchardt of the opposition CDU opposed this law, saying that the new law will only increase health risks for young people. He described Lauterbach's assurance as a mere pretence. Borchardt accused the three parties in Scholz's coalition government of making policy not for the country but for their ideology.

The cannabis law has also been a major point of contention between Scholz's coalition of Social Democrats, the Greens and the liberal FDP. In their coalition agreement, all three parties promised to go ahead and allow cannabis to be sold in stores, but the EU blocked this.

According to the news agency AFP, the new law has also been widely criticized by medical associations and health groups. At the same time, the German public is divided on the issue, according to a YouGov poll published on Friday, with 47 per cent in favour of the plan and 42 per cent against it.