Ist Alkohol in Deutschland Legal Oder Illegal
In Germany, the Youth Protection Act regulates the supply of alcohol to minors. Mixed beverages belong to the category of alcoholic beverages. Even if you are allowed to drink alcohol in principle: if you participate in road traffic, you should never do so while intoxicated. Of course, there are very precise regulations that apply to everyone in Germany – you can find an overview on our page on alcohol in road traffic. It was not until 1925 that the Geneva Opium Conference decided to ban cannabis. However, it was not health concerns that played a role, but mainly economic interests. For example, hemp was used to make a lot of paper, but also ropes or other textiles. When wood and synthetic fibres entered the market as substitutes, producers, mainly European and American, had an interest in cannabis being banned as a competing product. up to 24 grams of pure alcohol per day for men – 0.6 liters of beer or 0.3 liters of wine up to 12 grams of pure alcohol per day for women – 0.3 liters of beer or 0.15 liters of wineThis amount only applies if no alcohol is drunk at least two days a week! Apart from these amounts, alcohol is considered low risk if it is drunk suitable for the respective situation. This also includes abstaining from alcohol consumption in certain situations and situations (road traffic, workplace, pregnancy, no excessive alcohol consumption, etc.).
Illegally produced alcohol can pose a significant health risk to consumers. Around the world, mass poisonings and deaths are often reported in the media. Because these beverages are not subject to quality or production controls, they may contain excessive amounts of ethanol, increasing the risk of poisoning. They may also contain harmful and toxic substances (2, 3). These include methanol, a form of alcohol that can be added to illicit beverages to intensify their effects. Methanol can cause vision problems and other health problems, including death (4). In addition, some beverages are contaminated during production with toxic chemicals and animal products, which are added to speed up fermentation. The consumption of these drinks carries a high risk of poisoning and infection. In many parts of the world, alcohol consumption can pose a risk, especially outside of licensed restaurants or shops.
The Youth Protection Act (§9) also stipulates that alcoholic beverages may not generally be offered in publicly accessible vending machines. That`s why there are not only schnapps vending machines in public areas, but also no beer or wine vending machines. Alcohol is one of the oldest and most widespread legal drugs in Germany. It is estimated that 25% of alcohol consumed worldwide is illegal (1). Its consumption can lead to serious to fatal damage to health. You need to know these facts. Whether at the supermarket, at the kiosk or at the party at home: anyone who gives mixed drinks containing beer or wine to young people under the age of 16 is liable to prosecution. The World Health Organization estimates that about a quarter of all alcohol consumed worldwide has been produced illegally (1). Research shows that this number is much higher in some areas. For example, nearly half of the alcohol drunk in Southeast Asia and more than a third of what is consumed in Africa is of illegal origin (10).
Alcohol is produced or sold illegally, or both, especially when legal products are unavailable or unaffordable for the majority of the population (11). In Germany, on the other hand, possession of drugs – regardless of their quantity – is a criminal offence within the meaning of Paragraph 29 of the BtMG and can be punishable by law by up to five years` imprisonment. However, paragraph 5 of the Act applies to small quantities: the court may waive the penalty for possession or cultivation for personal consumption. Power. Marlene Mortler (CSU), who left her post as the federal government`s drug commissioner at the beginning of July 2019 after five and a half years in Brussels, said in the „Deutschlandfunk“ interview that she was making herself „very, very unpopular“ with her efforts to restrict alcohol consumption in Germany, as it was very deeply rooted in our society. Especially since legal drugs like alcohol and tobacco already cause so many problems, she sees no benefit in adding another legal drug with cannabis. Futurist Lena Papasabbas believes that the path chosen by Portugal is the right one. If you are caught with weed or ecstasy for your own consumption, it will be punished in the same way as improper parking. So you are not a criminal. „In many countries belong to traditional illegal alcoholic beverages, distilled at home.
These include beverages such as Palm Toddy in Sri Lanka and India, Pulque in Mexico, Chicha in Bolivia, sorghum beer and other beers in Botswana and South Africa, and Samogon, a homemade vodka, in Russia and Belarus. These drinks can sometimes be of high quality, but usually this is not the case and it is not easy to tell the difference. Of course, for the imposition of a certain penalty, what exactly happened is crucial. Nevertheless, it is definitely worth staying within the limit when it comes to alcohol. And not just to protect others or avoid punishment: it`s also good for your health. Some alcohol-containing liquids, such as hand sanitizer, perfume, mouthwash or window cleaning solutions, are consumed because they are relatively inexpensive and readily available (5-7). Although these liquids are legally available, they are not intended for consumption. The consequences of their use can be devastating. In Kenya (8), a local drink called „changa`a“ is called „fast death“ because of its powerful effects (9). This illegal market also includes cross-border smuggling of legally produced, high-quality branded beverages. Incentives for illicit trade include significant price differences or alcohol bans in a given region.
These figures are offset by €3.165 billion in revenue for the German state from taxes on beer, sparkling wine and spirits alone. And that brings us to one of the reasons why, according to the futurologist, alcohol, the most dangerous of all drugs, is legal in Germany. This also happens in practice. „Possession of drugs in small quantities only for personal use often leads to a termination of prosecution,“ writes Munich defense lawyer Christian Wehner. What is a small amount, however, is regulated in Germany by the federal states themselves – so there is no Germany-wide guideline. While it is 15 grams in Berlin, significantly lower values apply in ten Länder, including Bavaria, Hesse and Saxony. The limit is six grams. In Germany, a consumer often becomes a delinquent very quickly. Illegal alcohol is produced illegally. Approved and regulated production processes for registered and approved manufacturers are not followed. This alcohol usually has no brand and does not meet product quality and safety standards.
In some countries, small batches of home-distilled alcohol are produced and sold from locally available ingredients outside the legal production and marketing channels. Other illicit beverages are produced on a larger scale, sometimes by adding ethanol to the exclusion of the natural fermentation process, as well as by adding other ingredients. These drinks are sold directly on the black market or repackaged and sold as counterfeits of well-known brands. Alcohol (ethanol) is obtained by fermenting sugar from different raw materials, such as grapes, fruits, cereals, sugar cane or potatoes. Depending on the drink, you will find a high or rather low alcohol content. Beer, for example, has a volume content of 4-8%, brandy or schnapps contain up to 50%. So many people think that beer is not as harmful as alcohol. It`s not true. The health consequences only depend on how much pure alcohol is actually drunk, which means that beer is just as harmful in certain quantities! In other words, politicians know very well that alcohol is at least as dangerous (or more dangerous) than all the drugs that fall under BtMG.