GERMANY could be one of the next countries to make sweeping changes to its cannabis consumption laws.

Pressure has been put on German politicians after the head of an organisation representing the country’s police called for the consumption of cannabis to be decriminalised.

The European powerhouse has allowed some patients to get marijuana as a prescription medication since last March, but officials have stressed that doesn’t mean it will be legalised for non-medical purposes.

On Monday that the head of the BDK (the Association of German Criminal Officers) told The Bild daily that the group favours a “complete decriminalisation of cannabis consumers”. Andre Schulz argued that the current system stigmatises people and “allows criminal careers to start”.

Mr Schulz argued that “the prohibition of cannabis was, viewed historically, arbitrary” and is “neither intelligent nor expedient”.

He added: “In the history of mankind there has never been a society without the use of drugs. This is something that has to be accepted. My prediction is cannabis will not be banned for long in Germany.”

However, he said that marijuana must remain off limits for drivers.

Germany is not the only European country which is having a debate on its stance on cannabis.

Steve Rolles, a senior policy analyst on drug policy in the UK, told The Independent that British police are also calling for the decriminalisation of cannabis use.

“It’s always welcome to hear calls for drug welfare reform coming from the police, because they have the authority of frontline experience of the failure of the war on drugs,” he told the newspaper.

“What’s happening in Germany is also a case of what’s happening in the UK, where we’re seeing increasing numbers of serving police questioning the status quo and calling for a debate on reforms.

“Several police authorities are putting in place de facto decriminalisation schemes, where people caught in possession of cannabis aren’t prosecuted but are diverted into education or treatment programs.

“If we want to deal with the problem of the illegal market we need to legalise and responsibly regulate the production and supply of cannabis and other drugs as well, and there are many police forces making that argument.”

It follows sweeping changes to laws across US states in recent years. Last month, three of the country’s most populous states, California, Massachusetts and Nevada, legalised marijuana use.

Meanwhile, Florida, Arkansas and North Dakota have voted to approve medical marijuana laws.

As the sixth largest economy in the world in terms of gross domestic product, California is expected to bring in as much as $1.3 billion per year as it gets set to tax marijuana sales.

Recreational marijuana was first approved in 2012 by Washington state and Colorado, and later by voters in Oregon, Alaska and the District of Columbia.

— With AP