International
Germany launches the partial legalization of cannabis between celebrations and criticism
The law that partially legalizes the use and recreational consumption of cannabis in Germany entered into force today after difficult debates within the political, police and health, which hundreds of people took advantage of to meet in Berlin and celebrate – smoking marijuana – the measure, criticized by some doctors and part of the opposition.
About 1,500 Berliners gathered around midnight in front of the Brandenburg Gate along with a one-meter-high model of a hemp leaf and posters on which you could read slots such as “precaution, smokers” or “we don’t want to be criminals.”
More actions of this type are expected this Easter Monday in other places throughout the country.
“I think the legalization of cannabis is right and arrives late. In my opinion, it is important to allow the use of cannabis, especially if its effects are compared with those of alcohol consumption. I also hope that decriminalization will reduce the desire for consumption among young people,” Christian, a native of Hamburg, told EFE.
From today, people over 18 years of age will be able to grow a maximum of three cannabis plants at home for self-consumption or have 50 grams of dried flowers in their private space. 25 grams will be allowed in the public space.
Smoking is prohibited in playgrounds, schools, sports facilities, including soccer stadiums, and facilities for children and young people, and in sight of them. It will also not be possible to consume cannabis between 7:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. in pedestrian areas.
From July 1, it will be legal to create clubs with up to 500 members who will be able to grow cannabis collectively and non-commercially and exchange it between them for private consumption.
Distribution and sale are still prohibited, as is driving a motor vehicle under the influence of the drug.
There is no legal limit for cannabis behind the wheel as with alcohol. Given the legal vacuum, a commission of experts proposed a maximum concentration of 3.5 nanograms per milliliter of blood serum for the active ingredient THC.
Anyone who exceeds the grams allowed for personal use faces penalties of up to 30,000 euros or in the worst case prison sentences.
From the perspective of those who oppose legalization, the limit of cannabis possession allowed by law is too high.
The German Medical Association considers that 50 grams per month “corresponds to high-risk consumption and leads to cannabis-related disorders.”
The Ministry of Health argues that legal cannabis must also be available in larger quantities if the illegal black market is to be undermined.
The Minister of Justice, Marco Buschmann, also argues that the legalization will ease the pressure on justice and the police in the medium term. Currently, more than 100,000 criminal proceedings are open against cannabis users.
The road to the partial legalization of cannabis was not easy in the Central European country, where the main opposition party, the conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU), has already said that it will reverse the law if it reaches the Government.
The measure, proposed by the Minister of Health, Karl Lauterbach, in April of last year, obtained – in a strongly modified version – on February 23 the approval of the Lower House, with the vote in favor of the government coalition of social democrats, greens and liberals, as well as the left.
But the measure was about to derail in the Upper House, in which the governments of the 16 federal states are represented and where several of them had shown their opposition.
A commitment offered by Lauterbach at the last minute to regularly introduce controls in cannabis clubs and the promise of federal support for prevention measures made it possible to carry out the measure on March 22.
Meanwhile, the Government Commissioner for Drugs and Drug Addiction, Burkhard Blienert, has already asked that a decision now also be made on the pilot projects for the cannabis trade.
“It’s the only way to ensure that occasional consumers don’t have to go to camels either,” he says.
Initially the Government also wanted to allow the sale of cannabis in stores with a state license, but it ruled out the idea after the concerns expressed by the European Commission
International
Israel says 136 food aid boxes airdropped into Gaza by six nations
The Israeli military announced on Sunday that 136 boxes of food aid were airdropped into Gaza by the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Egypt, Germany, and Belgium.
“In recent hours, six countries conducted air drops of 136 aid packages containing food for residents in the southern and northern Gaza Strip,” read the statement, which added that the operation was coordinated by COGAT, the Israeli defense body overseeing civil affairs in the occupied Palestinian territories.
The Israeli military emphasized that they will “continue working to improve the humanitarian response alongside the international community” and reiterated their stance to “refute false allegations of deliberate famine in Gaza.”
The announcement comes as UN agencies warn Gaza faces an imminent risk of famine. More than one in three residents go days without eating, and other nutrition indicators have dropped to their worst levels since the conflict began.
The agencies also noted the difficulty of “collecting reliable data in current conditions, as Gaza’s health systems —already devastated by nearly three years of conflict— are collapsing.”
Meanwhile, Gaza’s Hamas-run Health Ministry reported on Sunday that hospitals in the enclave recorded six deaths from hunger and malnutrition on Saturday, all of them adults.
International
Seven inmates dead, 11 injured after violent riot in Veracruz prison
Seven inmates were killed and eleven others injured in a violent riot and clash inside a penitentiary in the Mexican state of Veracruz, local authorities reported on Sunday.
The disturbance began on Saturday afternoon at the Social Reintegration Center in the port city of Tuxpan, in northern Veracruz, when inmates staged a protest over extortion and assaults allegedly carried out by members of the criminal group known as Grupo Sombra.
The protesting prisoners clashed with another group of inmates and set fires inside and outside the facility, seizing control of the prison for more than 12 hours.
During the takeover, the rioters released several videos, including one showing four prisoners —believed to be members of Grupo Sombra— accusing them of being behind the violence and extortion inside the prison.
It wasn’t until Sunday morning that elements of the Mexican Army, the National Guard, and local police forces managed to enter the prison and regain control. The state’s Public Security Secretariat confirmed that around 9:00 a.m. local time a coordinated operation restored full order and reestablished control of the facility.
Authorities also reported that the fires set by inmates were fully extinguished.
Official figures confirmed the “tragic” deaths of seven inmates and injuries to eleven people, who are now receiving medical treatment in various regional hospitals.
This is the second deadliest riot in Veracruz in the past eight years. In 2018, a violent uprising at the La Toma medium-security prison left seven people dead (six police officers and one unidentified man) and at least 22 injured (15 officers and seven inmates).
The riot follows the kidnapping and killing of retired teacher and taxi driver Irma Hernández, a case that shocked the entire country and was attributed to Grupo Sombra. Images of Hernández kneeling, surrounded by armed men in the municipality of Álamo, sparked nationwide outrage. She was murdered after refusing to pay extortion demands from the criminal organization.
Despite these incidents, Veracruz has not seen a spike in the daily homicide average. In fact, there has been a 1.6% decrease in homicides in the first half of 2025 compared to the same period in 2024, according to the Executive Secretariat of the National Public Security System.
In 2023, the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI) reported 3,094 incidents in Mexican prisons —an 18.5% increase from the previous year— resulting in 100 deaths and 892 injuries.
International
Study finds COVID-19 vaccines prevented 2.5 million deaths worldwide
COVID-19 vaccines prevented an estimated 2,533,000 deaths worldwide between 2020 and 2024, according to an international study led by Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Italy and Stanford University in the United States, published in the journal JAMA Health Forum. Researchers calculated that one death was prevented for every 5,400 doses administered.
The analysis also found that the vaccines saved 14.8 million years of life, equivalent to one year of life gained for every 900 doses given.
The study, coordinated by Professor Stefania Boccia, revealed that 82% of the lives saved were people vaccinated before becoming infected with the virus, and 57% of deaths avoided occurred during the Omicron wave. In addition, 90% of the beneficiaries were adults over 60 years old.
“This is the most comprehensive analysis to date, based on global data and fewer assumptions about the evolution of the pandemic,” explained Boccia and researcher Angelo Maria Pezzullo.
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