Appeal to ministers

The ÖVP’s fight against weed continues

Because the green herb is legal in Bavaria, there are strict controls at the Upper Austrian border.

(Bild: Scharinger Daniel)

Since the legalization of cannabis in neighbouring Germany, the Upper Austrian People's Party has never tired of warning of the risks and dangers. Now stricter penalties and stricter controls are being demanded, and Upper Austria is addressing clear words to the Minister of Health. However, the predicted "drug wave" is yet to materialize.

Governor Thomas Stelzer, ÖVP state party secretary Florian Hiegelsberger and now Deputy Governor and Health Minister Christine Haberlander: since the consumption of cannabis has been permitted under certain conditions in neighboring Germany, the state ÖVP has not stopped warning of the dangers (see also report below).

Alliance against legalization
Stelzer asked the police for stricter controls and was also on site in the border area between Upper Austria and Bavaria to see for himself the measures planned by the police. Now, Christine Haberlander, State Councillor for Health, is trying to forge an Austria-wide alliance from our state against the possible legalization of the drug (which has been repeatedly brought into play by the Greens).

A laissez-faire attitude endangers people's health, especially that of our children and young people. I call for stricter monitoring and better controls.

LH-Vize Christine Haberlander, ÖVP

She warns of the consequences - especially for young people: "Consumption and the associated psychoactive effects can lead to serious health problems. Including psychoses, depression and developmental disorders."

ÖVP warns of health risks
At the conference of all health officers of the federal states on 6 May in Lower Austria, the ÖVP politician wants to make the next attempt and once again raise the issue of the dangers of legalization and the risks posed by cannabis stores. She says to Health Minister Johannes Rauch (Greens): "Our concern is and must be people's health. I am calling for stricter monitoring of existing laws and better controls."

Cannabis has been legal in Germany since April 1, 2024 - under strict conditions.

(Bild: Karl Schöndorfer)

Curious: stoners bring "weed" into Bavaria instead of to us in Upper Austria
Before cannabis was legalized in Germany, local politicians sounded the alarm: hordes of stoned compatriots would flood back home from Bavaria with arms full of "weed". The reality looks different, namely strange: On Monday, for example, the Bavarian border police caught two stoners importing their substance into Bavaria without permission. Specifically, during a check on the New Bridge near Schärding, the officers reported a German (24) who was carrying some marijuana as a passenger in a van. A Czech man (42), who was caught by Passau railroad investigators on a regional train, also had "weed" in his luggage.

Unclear what is allowed
According to the border police, such seizures are not uncommon: "Since the liberalization of cannabis on 1 April, many people have been unclear about what is and isn't allowed. Cannabis may be bought and possessed in Germany, but it may not be imported from abroad. This also applies to the plants," says police chief inspector Christian Scherer in an interview with the "Krone" newspaper.

Lesen Sie dazu auch den Kommentar von Christoph Gantner

„Alarmiert und vorbereitet“

"Cannabis legalization: Upper Austria is alarmed and prepared" was the headline in the Volksblatt on 12 March. The police were called upon by the provincial VP to do everything possible to ward off "a wave of drug drivers".

(Bild: Krone KREATIV, Alexander Schwarzl, Markus Wenzel)

Well, the reality is different. Anyone who wants to get high or high on various illegal substances has had no problem getting hold of them here before. The supposedly imminent drug tourism to totally stoned Bavaria has so far failed to materialize. The legal Bavarian drug beer certainly flows into the Innviertel in far greater quantities.