From Friday, smoking pot at home becomes legal in Luxembourg

The same goes for growing up to four plants in domestic circumstances

At the end of last month, the Luxembourgish parliament passed a law legalizing the consumption of cannabis at home, and now this law is set to come into force on Friday, 21 July. What’s more, the legislation stipulates that people in the Grand Duchy will have the right to grow their own marijuana plants, capping the limit at four per household.

The story of this breakthrough in recreational drug usage in the small country was several years in the making. After making the drug legal for medical use in 2018, the lawmakers then set their sights on extending this to the recreational sphere.

Bill 8033 as the law was filed under this number in the legislature enjoyed the support of several parties, with 38 MPs voting in favour versus 22 being against. The result is that Luxembourg became the second EU country to allow some form of legal use and possession of marijuana – the first was Malta.

Black market is still an issue, though

It looks like the smallest EU members are the most progressive and bold in their experimental approach to liberalizing the market, at least on the consumer side.

Consumption and transportation of cannabis outside of one's home remain prohibited, as do private sales. That means that it still remains unclear how the authorities plan to handle the black market for cannabis in the country.

There’s a loosening of rules there, as well, to some extent. The new law stipulates new and reduced penalties for violations.

The penalties have been reduced, with fines ranging from 25 to 500 euros for amounts up to three grams. However, if the possession exceeds three grams, people may face criminal proceedings lasting from eight days to six months, accompanied by fines ranging from 251 to 2,500 euros.

The Grand Duchy’s Minister of Justice Sam Tanson, from the Green Party, emphasized that the criminalization of cannabis has proven to be a failure and thus it was counterproductive. That party argued that the authorities need to adapt to the reality on the ground and act accordingly.