Germany to legalise medicinal marijuana by 2017

Germany will legalise medical marijuana next year, the country’s health minister said on Wednesday.

The German cabinet decided to approve the measure for seriously ill patients who have consulted with a doctor and ‘have no therapeutic alternative’, according to a health ministry statement.

‘Our goal is that seriously ill people are looked after to the best of our ability,’ Federal Health Minister Hermann Grohe said.

The move comes as a number of countries have begun loosening laws regarding marijuana use, both recreationally and medically, CNN reported.

Amsterdam in neighbouring Netherlands is famous for its lax marijuana laws.