BERLIN (dpa-AFX) - The controversial cannabis law of the traffic light coalition has been signed and can come into force as planned on April 1. Representing Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, who is on vacation, Bundesrat President Manuela Schwesig signed the law on Wednesday. The examination revealed that "there are no constitutional objections to its enactment", the Office of the Federal President announced. "The order for promulgation in the Federal Law Gazette has been issued."

The law, which came about after decades of debate, represents a turning point in German drug policy. It allows possession and cultivation of the drug for adults with numerous provisions for personal use. The law only passed the Bundesrat last Friday.

The CDU/CSU parliamentary group in the Bundestag subsequently hoped that the law could still be stopped by the Federal President not signing it. Their health policy spokesperson Tino Sorge told the Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland: "The law should be stopped for the time being after the chaotic debate of the last few weeks. It's not too late for that."

The Federal President essentially checks laws to see whether they have been passed in accordance with the provisions of the Basic Law. According to prevailing legal opinion, he is also entitled to a substantive right of review within narrow limits. According to this, he can refuse to sign a law if its content clearly violates the Basic Law./sk/DP/mis