MAINZ (dpa-AFX) - The Minister President of Rhineland-Palatinate, Malu Dreyer (SPD), does not expect the law for the legalization of cannabis to fail. Rhineland-Palatinate does not want to stop the law and will not call on the mediation committee, said the head of government on Tuesday in Mainz. In view of the upcoming Bundesrat meeting, the principle of the so-called free hand had been agreed in the traffic light coalition.

For Rhineland-Palatinate, the protocol declaration of the federal government is also important for the decision, explained Dreyer. This had not yet been finalized. The cabinet had therefore given her a "free hand" for the decision on Friday. Much will only be clarified on Thursday evening in the various fireside chats before the Bundesrat meeting. Only then would she know how Rhineland-Palatinate would finally vote. In principle, she was not against the law. However, Dreyer conceded that there were concerns, particularly with regard to the amnesty regulations.

According to the law passed by the Bundestag, possession and cultivation of the drug with numerous provisions for adults for personal consumption will be permitted from April 1. The law will be finally passed by the Bundesrat this Friday. It does not require approval there, but the chamber of the federal states could call on the joint mediation committee with the Bundestag and thus slow down the process.

Concerns have been raised from the federal states about, among other things, a planned amnesty for old cases, which would no longer be punishable under the new law. There are fears that the judiciary will be overburdened by the resulting case reviews./glb/DP/mis