A new petition is gaining steam to legalize cannabis in Germany. The petition asks the German government to legalize cannabis for adults over 18 and allow for state-certified cultivation centers and retail stores.

Among the reasons given to legalize is the current rapid change in marijuana laws in the US, as well as the growing tolerance of marijuana in several countries around the world with Uruguay on course to be the first country to legalize recreational marijuana. The petition also points to the fact that as more research is done on cannabis, it is becoming clear that it is not a dangerous substance, but a beneficial one.

Germany has medical cannabis laws, even allowing for home growing in some circumstances, but often prefers cannabis-based pharmaceuticals such as Sativex and Dronabinol. And while cannabis remains illegal in Germany, possessing small amounts (which vary by location) has no criminal consequences.

Marijuana reform may not yet have the momentum in Germany that it has here in the US, but cannabis activists are certainly not unknown there. Earlier this year, activists planted cannabis across the landscape in Göttingen to protest cannabis prohibition.

This petition still has almost 150 days to meet its goal of 50,000 signatures.