Luxembourg’s Cannabis Paradox: Legal at Home, Restricted Everywhere Else

When we think of the relaxed approach to cannabis in Europe, we often imagine Dutch coffee shops or Portuguese decriminalization. However, it was Malta and Luxembourg that achieved the true legislative breakthrough. In the summer of 2023, Luxembourg became the second EU country to officially enshrine the right to cultivate cannabis in law.

Many people mistakenly believe that the Netherlands has legalized cannabis. This is a myth.

The Netherlands has a policy of tolerance . Possession is technically illegal there, but authorities turn a blind eye to small amounts. Portugal and Spain, on the other hand, have decriminalized possession (you won’t go to jail for it), but neither country has given its citizens a clear, statutory right: “Yes, you can legally grow cannabis at home.”

The Maltese finally did so, followed by the Luxembourgers in July 2023. Two years have passed since this historic change. We’ve seen how this experiment works in practice.

This is not full legalization (and the minister emphasizes this)

The Luxembourg Ministry of Justice avoids the word “legalization” like the plague. They prefer the term “decriminalization.”

Why? Because trade, transportation, and public sale are still strictly prohibited. There are no cannabis dispensaries and no tax revenues. However, there is a narrow window of opportunity for home gardeners.

From July 2023, each adult resident can grow a maximum of 4 cannabis plants.

However, the rules are rigid in Luxembourg:

Here’s where the legal absurdity comes in, as pointed out by Steve Goedert of the Luxembourg police. If you invite friends to a party, you can’t offer them your legal weed.

“If everyone in my house starts using cannabis, that’s a mistake. It’s not allowed. Only the resident can use it,” Goedert explains.

In practice, the police don’t keep a register of growers and don’t inspect homes without cause. Officers usually stumble upon violations of these rules by accident.

Driver Trap: THC and the Highway Code

The biggest challenge of the new regulations is road traffic. Nothing has changed here, and absolute zero tolerance applies.

For drivers, it’s a game of Russian roulette, just like in Poland.

Alcohol disappears from the blood within a few hours.
THC can stay in the body for up to 3-4 weeks .
You can smoke a legal joint on Saturday and lose your license the following Monday. Police tests detect the presence of a substance, not whether you were under the influence at the time. However, a positive result is considered unambiguous in court.

Police warn: the right to smoke at home does not exempt you from responsibility on the road.

The Black Market Is Thriving (and Recruiting in Schools)

Has the ability to grow 4 bushes destroyed the illegal trade? No.

Police officers admit: “We still encounter the same dealers on the streets.”

The reason is simple: Indoor cultivation is difficult and expensive (electricity, lights, water). Many users prefer to take the risk and buy a ready-made product rather than play gardener.

There’s also a side effect that addiction therapists are raising alarms about. Nora Vitali from the Impuls center points to a “new type of dealer .” These are children.

Teenagers are stealing weed from their parents’ legal crops and selling it at school. The availability of cannabis at home has led young people to stop viewing it as a threat.

Police: Less paperwork, more tickets

For law enforcement, the change in law is nevertheless a relief. Police no longer have to initiate criminal proceedings for every joint. Instead, they use a simplified system of financial penalties (fines):

145 euros – for smoking in a public place.
approx. 300 euros – for possession or transport of up to 3 grams.
These fines have benefited the state budget by approximately €100,000 . More importantly, however, is the reduction in court workload. The number of cannabis-related criminal cases has fallen by nearly 700.

Luxembourg has gone a step further than the Netherlands and Portugal by legalizing cannabis cultivation. However, the lack of regulated sales and strict traffic laws mean that the system remains rife with contradictions. It’s a hybrid model: some freedom at home, many restrictions on the street.

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(Featured image by Cedric Letsch via Unsplash)

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First published in FaktyKonopne. A third-party contributor translated and adapted the article from the original. In case of discrepancy, the original will prevail.

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