Contribution on Notification 2025/0415/SI
Cannabis for Limited Personal Use Act (Slovenia)
Submitted by: Nordic Alcohol and Drug Policy Network (NordAN)
Date: 29.09.2025
We ask the Commission to issue comments under Directive (EU) 2015/1535 and to invite Slovenia to reconsider or substantially amend the draft. In our view, key parts of the bill raise concerns with EU primary and secondary law, Schengen rules, public health protections, workplace safety, and international drug control obligations. Several technical elements, like THC limits for drivers and controls on private transfers, also carry concrete safety and enforcement risks.
A. EU criminal law alignment and Article 83 TFEU
Article 83 TFEU lets the Union set minimum rules on serious cross-border crime, including illicit drug trafficking. Allowing home growing and private transfers risks leakage into illegal markets and cross-border movement, which can undercut the common approach set by the Council Framework Decision 2004/757/JHA. We suggest the Commission examine whether the bill, in practice, weakens minimum criminal law standards that support coordinated action against drug trafficking.
B. Schengen cooperation and possible secondary flows
Home growing plus legal gifts can create “secondary flows” into other Member States. If neighbours see this as a public-order risk, the Schengen Borders Code allows reintroducing internal border checks as a last resort, which would harm free movement. The Commission should ask Slovenia to assess spillover risks and to propose risk-mitigation steps consistent with Articles 25 and following of the Code.
C. Loyal cooperation (Article 4(3) TEU)
Member States should avoid measures that make common EU objectives harder to reach. The Commission could ask how the bill supports joint efforts to reduce drug crime and trafficking, including under current EU security and drugs strategies.
D. CJEU/ECtHR consistency
CJEU case law has upheld strong public-order and health justifications in drug-related contexts. The Commission could invite Slovenia to show how the bill maintains effective deterrence against trafficking and diversion while staying consistent with free-movement rules and proportionality.
E. Public health obligations (Article 168 TFEU)
EU law requires a high level of human health protection in all policies. The Commission could ask for a clearer health-impact assessment: youth use, dependence, high-potency products, ED visits, and the burden on prevention and treatment. Recent modelling from Germany projects net negative health effects from legalization.
F. Protection of minors
The Charter of Fundamental Rights (Article 24) and the UN CRC (Article 33) call for special protection of children and prevention of drug exposure. The bill prohibits access by minors at home and near schools, which is positive, but the Commission could ask for stronger, measurable safeguards and enforcement plans.
G. Online promotion and digital safeguards
There is a risk of online promotion reaching minors once possession and home growing are legal. The Commission could ask how Slovenia will ensure platform compliance with the Digital Services Act (DSA) minors protections, including risk assessment and mitigation by platforms accessible to minors.
H. Workplace health and safety
The draft would ban employer THC testing in routine health checks. This may conflict with employers’ EU-level occupational safety and health (OSH) duties to assess risks and protect workers and third parties. The Commission could ask Slovenia to carve out safety-critical roles or set a targeted impairment policy aligned with the Framework Directive 89/391/EEC.
I. Road safety and THC thresholds
The bill sets a 3 ng THC/ml blood threshold below which unimpaired drivers are not penalized. THC blood levels correlate poorly with impairment, and mixed-substance use raises crash risk. The EU road safety framework aims for Vision Zero, so the Commission could ask for evidence that the proposed thresholds and enforcement model reduce cannabis-impaired driving, including in mixed use with alcohol. We also recommend reviewing Germany’s ongoing 3.5 ng/ml discussions and expert cautions to avoid sending “safe to drive” signals.
J. Market surveillance and leakage controls
With no licensed retail market, private cultivation and gifting become the main legal channels. The Commission could ask Slovenia to detail controls to prevent illicit product entering the legal possession chain, how testing and recalls would work in a non-market setting, and how this aligns with EU market-surveillance principles.
K. International obligations and EU external coherence
The International Narcotics Control Board has repeatedly said that non-medical cannabis legalization is not in line with the Single Convention. The Commission could ask Slovenia to explain its treaty-law reasoning and how the move affects EU coherence in UN bodies and negotiations.
L. Specific technical questions for Slovenia
1. How will the bill stop diversion from home grows to minors or the market, and how will this be measured year by year, including on potency and extracts.
2. What is the evidence base for the driving thresholds, and what is the plan for roadside enforcement and mixed-substance impairment.
3. How will the employer testing ban be squared with EU OSH duties in safety-critical sectors, and what alternative impairment detection is mandated.
4. How will online promotion to minors be prevented and enforced in line with the DSA.
5. What cross-border risk analysis has been done, and what mitigation is planned to avoid secondary flows that could trigger internal border checks.
6. How does the proposal align with Article 83 TFEU aims and with Framework Decision 2004/757/JHA.
7. What is Slovenia’s position on consistency with UN drug treaties and recent INCB positions, and how does it plan to preserve EU external credibility.
Sources
- TFEU Article 83, consolidated:
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/treaty/tfeu_2016/art_83/oj/eng - Council Framework Decision 2004/757/JHA:
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dec_framw/2004/757/2022-08-18/eng - Framework Decision original OJ page:
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:32004F0757 - Schengen Borders Code:
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:02016R0399-20240710 - Article 25 overview, internal border checks:
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/eur/2016/399/article/25 - TEU Article 4(3) loyal cooperation:
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/treaty/teu_2016/art_4/oj/eng - CJEU, C-137/09 Josemans (coffee shop case):
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:62009CJ0137 - TFEU Article 168 public health:
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/treaty/tfeu_2016/art_168/oj/eng - PLOS ONE, “A quantitative projection of the net health effects of cannabis legalisation in Germany” (2025):
https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0330879 - Charter of Fundamental Rights, Article 24:
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/treaty/char_2016/art_24/oj/eng - UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, Article 33:
https://www.ohchr.org/en/instruments-mechanisms/instruments/convention-rights-child - Digital Services Act, Regulation (EU) 2022/2065:
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2022/2065/oj/eng - EDPB comments on draft Commission guidelines for Article 28 DSA (protection of minors), 10 June 2025:
https://www.edpb.europa.eu/system/files/2025-06/edpb_comments_europeancommission_article_28_dsa_en.pdf - Commission consultation/guidance process on minors under DSA:
https://digitalpolicyalert.org/change/10560 - Framework Directive on Safety and Health at Work, 89/391/EEC:
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dir/1989/391/oj/eng - Consolidated 89/391/EEC text:
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:01989L0391-20081211 - EU Road Safety Policy Framework 2021–2030, Commission SWD:
https://transport.ec.europa.eu/system/files/2021-10/SWD2190283.pdf - EU Drugs Agency topic page, “Drugs and driving”:
https://www.euda.europa.eu/topics/drugs-and-driving_en - NHTSA, Marijuana-Impaired Driving, Report to Congress:
https://www.nhtsa.gov/sites/nhtsa.gov/files/documents/812440-marijuana-impaired-driving-report-to-congress.pdf - Germany, Federal Ministry (BMV) expert documents on THC limits in road traffic (background to 3.5 ng/ml debate):
https://bmv.de/SharedDocs/DE/Publikationen/Referate/VP/THC-Grenzwert-Stra%C3%9Fenverkehr-Kurzfassung.html
https://bmv.de/SharedDocs/DE/Publikationen/Referate/VP/THC-Grenzwert-Stra%C3%9Fenverkehr-Langfassung.html - CDC, Cannabis and Driving:
https://www.cdc.gov/cannabis/health-effects/driving.html - EU Parliament resolution on Vision Zero (2021):
https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/TA-9-2021-0407_EN.html - Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 on market surveillance and compliance of products:
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2019/1020/2024-05-23/eng - INCB press release, 9 March 2023, on non-medical cannabis legalisation contravening the 1961 Convention:
https://www.incb.org/incb/en/news/press-releases/2023/international-narcotics-control-board-expresses-concern-over-the-trend-to-legalize-non-medical-use-of-cannabis--which-contravenes-the-1961-single-convention-on-narcotic-drugs.html - INCB President statements noting tension with conventions (2024):
https://www.incb.org/incb/en/news/speeches/2024/statement-of-the-incb-president-on-item-5-c-at-the-67th-session-of-the-cnd.html
https://www.incb.org/incb/en/news/speeches/2024/statement-of-the-incb-president-on-item-19-d_-narcotic-drugs-report-of-the-international-narcotics-control-board-at-the-economic-and-social-council-management-segment.html - INCB Annual Report 2024:
https://www.incb.org/documents/Publications/AnnualReports/AR2024/Annual_Report/E-INCB-2024-1-ENG.pdf - Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, 1961:
https://www.unodc.org/pdf/convention_1961_en.pdf
