BERLIN/DRESDEN (dpa-AFX) - The state interior ministers of the CDU and CSU want to examine a lawsuit against the partial legalization of cannabis. This was announced by their current spokesperson, Bavaria's head of department Joachim Herrmann (CSU), after a meeting in Berlin on Tuesday.

The heads of department of the federal states assume that crime will increase massively as a result of partial legalization. "An expansion of the black market is to be expected, as the legalization of cannabis will increase the number of consumers," explained Saxony's Interior Minister Armin Schuster. He also pointed out that even the UN Drug Control Council warned of a violation of international conventions.

"We agreed that the law enforcement and regulatory authorities of the federal states would be faced with difficult additional tasks and an immense amount of work. We do not want to accept this under any circumstances," said Herrmann. "Appealing to the Mediation Committee is therefore the least we can do to mitigate the major deficits in this bill. We are also considering an appeal against it." The draft bill is unclear in many places, contains an unmanageable number of facts and the large number of detailed regulations cause considerable legal uncertainty.

According to the law passed by the Bundestag in February on the partial legalization of cannabis, possession and cultivation of the drug are to become legal for adults for personal use with numerous requirements. Non-commercial "cultivation associations" for communal cultivation are also to be permitted from July 1. The law does not require the approval of the Bundesrat. However, resistance is forming among the federal states: three committees of the federal state chamber dealing with the issue recommend that the law be sent to the mediation committee. The lead Health Committee, for example, is proposing to postpone the entry into force of the entire law until October 1.

In particular, the Union interior ministers consider the planned possession and dispensing quantities to be "far too excessive". The ministers also criticize the fact that the aspect of road safety is hardly taken into account. It is to be feared that driving under the influence of drugs will increase./ctt/DP/tih