Germans say yes to dope; no to bestiality
An online poll shows that Germans want to decriminalize cannabis, but make sex with animals illegal. The survey was conducted as part of the government’s strategy to get people involved in the decision-making process.
More than 152,000 Germans voted to make marijuana legal in the online poll, an important element of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s “Dialogue on the Future” program. Over 93,000 participants voted to ban bestiality, revoking an earlier law that decriminalized having sex with animals, Reuters reports. Almost 157,000 Germans said they would support the adoption of a genocide law that would make it illegal to deny the mass killings of Armenians by the Ottoman Turks during World War I. However, Merkel rejected the idea in a discussion with some of the online voters. Turkey is a major trade partner with Germany, and many Turkish migrants and their progeny live in Germany, so the genocide law could be an even more contentious issue there than in neighboring France. The chancellor welcomed proposals to plant trees in cities and towns across Germany to commemorate the reunification of the country 22 years ago. The “Dialogue on the Future” initiative centered on discussions with students, scientists and teenagers on what life in Germany would be like in ten years. Last month, it culminated with the so-called future dialogue evening at the Hertie School of Governance in Berlin, which was attended by British Prime Minister David Cameron and Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg, along with around 100 students from all over the globe. Topics ranged from the eurozone debt crisis to the growing role of senior citizens in society.
