Germany’s cannabis-using drivers will no longer instantly lose licences

Drivers in Deutschland caught consuming cannabis will no longer have to contend with the automatic revocation of their driver’s licences, according to a new ruling from the Leipzig Federal Administration Court.

Before the ruling, anyone caught having so much as a nanogram per mm of THC (tetrahydrocannabinol–the primary psychoactive component in cannabis) in one’s blood while operating a motor vehicle was subject to the cancellation of their licence on the spot.

German licensing authorities will now have to issue a medical evaluation to determine whether the driver was inebriated and/or fit to drive at the time of their arrest.

Previous rules dictated that a driver could have their licence immediately revoked if they were inebriated from alcohol, cannabis or other drugs.

Germany has been slowly relaxing its laws around cannabis and driving, partially due to shifting public perceptions of the drug. In 2018, a police union encouraged the country to consider decriminalizing cannabis consumption, and in 2015 another group even advocated to raise the legal limit to three nanograms per mm, although the court did not rule in favour of the increase.

German licensing authorities will now have to issue a medical evaluation to determine whether the driver was inebriated and/or fit to drive at the time of their arrest.

Countries have struggled with how to contend with cannabis-intoxicated driving. Roadside saliva tests, such as those used in parts of Canada, can detect the presence of THC in a user’s system for long after its psychoactive effects have worn off, and a Maritime medical cannabis user involved in a recent incident in Nova Scotia is vowing to challenge the law in court.