Fewer drug offenses: Aurich regional court shows positive trends in 2025

Fewer drug offenses: Aurich regional court shows positive trends in 2025

A lot has happened at the Aurich Regional Court in recent years. A look at the numbers shows a remarkable decline in proceedings that violate the Narcotics Act. As NWZ Online reports, the number of these procedures fell to 183 in 2024, which means a decrease of almost 50 percent compared to 2023 (339 cases). This positive development is not only a sign of a more stable security situation, but also of the effects of the new cannabis law, which came into force on April 1, 2024.

Since then, possession of up to 25 grams of cannabis has been legal in Germany. This step was greeted with joy, which is why hundreds of people celebrated with joints at the Brandenburg Gate, for example. As part of an amnesty scheme, around 100 convicted consumers have already been released from prison early, according to zeit.de. In reality, the layoffs could even be 150 to 200 cases higher, as some federal states such as North Rhine-Westphalia have not published any figures.

Digital reforms and personnel situation

But it's not just about fewer cannabis violations. At the Aurich regional court, detention presentations fell from 141 in 2021 to 121 in 2024. These developments are likely to be partly accompanied by digitalization. The switch to electronic files in civil and family matters has already been completed, and the introduction in criminal matters is scheduled to follow by 2026. Here too, the NWZ Online reports on internal training courses that are already underway.

The civil law proceedings show an opposite trend. There was an increase in new proceedings from 1255 in 2021 to 1341 in 2024. Divorces also rose sharply, from 947 to 1106. But not only family law remains in flux, insolvencies are also at pre-Corona levels. With 132 corporate and 747 personal bankruptcies in 2024, these numbers are within expectations.

The challenges of cannabis law

Despite the encouraging decline in certain cases, there are also challenges related to the cannabis law. According to rsw.beck.de, judicial authorities nationwide had to process over 200,000 files as part of the amnesty. This involved enormous additional effort, as many files had to be searched manually, which contradicts the principle of digitization. According to estimates, this effort will take around 4,800 working days for the whole of Germany.

The implementation of the amnesty regulation is described by the judicial authorities as challenging, especially because of the tense personnel situation. The fact that no transition period was granted for the implementation of the new law makes preparations more difficult. The law stipulates that all penalties that have been imposed but not yet enforced will be waived if the offense is no longer punishable under the new legal situation. As explosive as the issues are, the possibility of a long-term relief of the judiciary would still be viewed positively, as the burden on the courts caused by old cannabis violations would be at least partially reduced.

A planned reform at the federal level could in the future increase the amount in dispute for smaller proceedings from 5,000 euros to up to 10,000 euros. A move that may shift the flow of smaller cases to district courts.

What remains? Progress in jurisprudence, numerous new procedures in civil law and the challenge of processing old files according to the new cannabis law. Nevertheless, the developments at the Aurich Regional Court show that we are on the right track.