Since the entry into force of the CanG on April 1, 2024, at least 125 people have been released from prison nationwide, as revealed by a request from the ARD capital studio. The new law regulates the partial legalization of cannabis and also stipulates an amnesty for offenses that are no longer considered crimes. This means that these cases must be reviewed and processed again since the offenses for which the people were punished are now legal and can no longer be punished.

Some cases are still pending

Thus, Bavaria reported 24 prison releases, Rhineland-Palatinate 13, and Lower Saxony two, while in North Rhine-Westphalia 50 people were released from prison. This number could still rise as some federal states have not yet completed the review of the relevant process. In so-called "mixed cases", where the possession of cannabis is only part of the process, a judge often has to decide on the penalty, which takes time. Nationwide, around 216,000 proceedings have been reviewed so far, but at least 10,000 are still pending. North Rhine-Westphalia had to review 86,000 procedures, with the time spent per file ranging between 15 and 60 minutes.

Two federal states also provided information on registered violations against the new law. Brandenburg reported a "low two-digit number" of criminal charges for violations of the consumer cannabis law, while Bavaria recorded about 611 charges between April 1 and April 18, including 54 regulatory violations and 330 traffic regulation violations.