A Lower Austrian has gone to the Constitutional Court with his request to lift the cannabis ban in Austria – and it has not been successful. The Supreme Court rejected the request as “unsuccessful”.
The Lower Austrian had argued that the ban was disproportionate and irrelevant given the “very low risk of psychological or physical dependence”. The Constitutional Court rejected the request, as the regulation of addictive substance use falls within the “legislator’s discretion for legal policy”. For example, the latter can decide whether the use of addictive substances is more strictly regulated than, for example, the use of alcohol and tobacco.
“Application pointless”
“Against this background, the application to lift the ban seems hopeless. The Constitutional Court has therefore unanimously rejected the handling of the request,” according to the reasoning of the Supreme Court. The decision was published on Monday.
In Austria, the Narcotics Act regulates the handling of so-called narcotics, psychotropic substances and precursors. In the case of cannabis, the production, acquisition, possession, transfer, acquisition, import and export as well as advertising is prohibited. Even the smallest amounts (for example the daily dose for personal consumption) are prohibited under Austrian law.
debate about addiction
Opponents of the ban have repeatedly argued that cannabis products cannot cause physical dependence, but experts continue to point out that psychological dependence can occur. However, cannabis use cannot be compared to classic cocaine, heroin or alcohol addiction.
Source: Krone
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