German opposition official lobbies EU to block cannabis plan

BERLIN (AP) — A senior German opposition official has lobbied the European Union to block the government’s plans to decriminalize the possession of limited amounts of cannabis and allow its sale for recreational purposes. Germany’s health minister unveiled the legalization plan last month but said the government would check with the European Commission whether the plan is in line with EU laws. The center-right Union bloc, the main opposition party, has assailed the plan by Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s socially liberal three-party coalition. The health minister in Bavaria’s conservative-led state government met the EU’s director-general for migration and home affairs in Brussels on Wednesday to urge an EU veto.