BERLIN/STUTTGART (dpa-AFX) - The green-black state of Baden-Württemberg intends to vote in the Bundesrat in favour of calling on the mediation committee on the cannabis legalization bill. Rudi Hoogvliet, plenipotentiary to the federal government, announced this to the German Press Agency on Friday. The basic objective of decriminalization was shared, but the law was flawed. The Greens in the state government feared that the planned amnesty regulation would overburden the judiciary, while the CDU demanded even more far-reaching changes.

The law passed by the Bundestag for the controlled release of cannabis for adults on April 1 does not require approval. However, the Bundesrat can send it to the joint mediation committee and thus put the brakes on it. It was initially unclear whether the necessary majority of votes in plenary would be achieved. This would require at least 35 of the total 69 votes. If they

- abstentions, the way is clear for the legalization of cannabis.

cannabis legalization.

Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania intends to abstain, as Minister President Manuela Schwesig (SPD) said before the meeting. The state is critical of the fact that large cannabis plantations could be established. However, the federal government had given a binding commitment that the law would be amended at this point, she said, referring to a government statement in the minutes.

According to Minister President Bodo Ramelow (Left Party), Thuringia also does not want to appeal to the mediation committee. Brandenburg's head of government Dietmar Woidke (SPD) said that he personally considered the law to be extremely difficult. The law enforcement authorities would have to be prepared for its implementation, but the time available for it to come into force on April 1 would be far too short.

Hesse's Minister President Boris Rhein (CDU) called the law a "catastrophe for Germany" and warned: "The wave that is rolling towards us is completely irresponsible." He was not prepared to take it to a mediation committee. "I won't sit down at the same table with anyone for cannabis."/poi/sam/DP/mis