On the hunt for stoners: Stelzer wants increased controls on the border with Upper Austria

This was discussed for a long time, but recently it has been decided: at the end of February, the German Bundestag voted by a majority in favor of the controlled release of cannabis. From April 1st, possession and cultivation of the drug will be legal in Austria’s neighboring country under certain conditions. The purchase of a maximum of 25 grams should be made possible through non-commercial associations. When growing your own plants in private apartments, you should be allowed to have up to three plants or a maximum of 50 grams. Possession and consumption remain prohibited for minors.

On the one hand, the German federal government – consisting of the SPD, Greens and FDP – hopes to curb the black market. On the other hand, child and youth protection should be improved. For example, minors who are caught with cannabis will have to take part in intervention and prevention programs in the future. At the same time, the police and judiciary would be relieved in the long term by eliminating many small crimes.

“Avert new wave”

In the short term, however, higher control efforts are to be expected, says German Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SP). However, the Bavarian CSU and the Upper Austrian ÖVP warn against the aforementioned control effort in connection with “drug tourism” in the German-Austrian border area. Yesterday, Governor Thomas Stelzer met with Schärdingen District Police Commander Matthias Osterkorn to discuss additional measures at the German borders. People are “alarmed and prepared,” says Stelzer: “The cannabis legalization that has been initiated in Germany worries us.”

District police commander Osterkorn and state governor Stelzer

With the availability of the drug in the neighboring country, accessibility in this country also increases. The state governor fears a further increase in drug drivers and accidents, particularly in road traffic. The number of drug drivers caught in Upper Austria has tripled in the past six years. “It is important to avert a new wave of drug traffickers,” says Stelzer.

He therefore announced increased controls at German border crossings from April. However, these should not be done constantly, but rather in places. “We will invest everything we have in terms of personnel and measures,” said Schärdinger district police commander Osterkorn. Among other things, the emergency services presented a new saliva pre-test device yesterday, which is supposed to deliver a result within ten minutes in suspected cases.

No right or wrong way

“The problem is less the risk of addiction. It is more the psychoses that this drug can trigger,” says Kurosch Yazdi-Zorn, head of the Clinic for Addiction Medicine at the Kepler Clinic in Linz.

Whether legalization or not – there is no right or wrong way. But one thing is certain for the doctor: legalization will increase consumption. “Let’s see whether the Germans manage to get the black market under control.”