SPD

muchbetterthanrandom

You'll want to check the SPD to see if you qualify for any in-service distributions, however if you are still employed with the company and you are not yet age 59 1/2 then your options will likely be pretty limited. You may also talk with your HR about your fee concerns. The company gets a pretty detailed breakdown on what fees will be charged and they decide how much of that they choose to pay themselves vs have allocated to the plan participants.

youngbutgood

"Germany’s medical cannabis imports hit a new all-time high between July and September 2025, rising nearly 20% quarter on quarter to 56.9 tonnes, bringing total imports for the first nine months of the year to 142 tonnes, up from 72 in all of 2024." Pretty impressive growth in the German market. Personally I don't think they will be able to pass anything too restrictive through the government as they need votes from the SPD and they are the ones who brought decriminalization to Germany.

Swearwolfofwallst

It was a SPD officer who ran over 80 different pedestrians in the crosswalk.

SwordfishOk504

Trnalsated: The CDU Federal Minister of Health had announced it some time ago, and now she's getting serious: The distribution of cannabis to sick patients will only be permitted after prior, personal consultation with a doctor. Mail-ordering will also be prohibited. Immediately after taking office, Federal Health Minister Nina Warken (CDU) had already made clear her opinion of the partial legalization of cannabis initiated by her predecessor, Karl Lauterbach (SPD): namely, nothing. "I did not support the law," she clarified in an interview with the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung . In the interview, she also announced the steps she would take to apparently reverse the unpopular law. Warken's first move is the Medical Cannabis Act (MedCanG). LTO has received a draft bill, which was sent to the associations this Monday with a deadline of August 1. The specific background to the legislative initiative is what the Federal Ministry of Health (BMG) considers an inflated number of cannabis prescriptions as a result of the traffic light law. BMG: "Cannabis imports increased by 170 percent" The Medicinal Cannabis Act stipulated that cannabis for sick patients, such as pain patients, must continue to be prescribed as a medicine under current social security law. However, since cannabis is no longer classified as a narcotic, a special narcotic prescription is no longer required since the liberalization of the law through the traffic light system. A regular prescription is sufficient. Pharmacies also offer the option of shipping the flowers. Subsequently, it became apparent that the number of such prescriptions issued by doctors increased significantly. Was the traffic light law making prescriptions too easy? Or were people without a medical indication perhaps able to easily obtain cannabis this way? "Our Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices has determined that consumption has tripled from 31 to 100 tons since April 2024 compared to the same period last year," Warken complained in May. The draft law now presented (as of June 18, 2025) states that the import of cannabis flowers for medical purposes increased by 170 percent from the first half of 2024 to the second half of 2024. "It's very easy to get a prescription online: You tick the boxes on a checklist indicating the symptoms you claim to have, and you receive an online prescription," said the Minister of Health. Prescription only after a visit to the doctor Now, this trend is to be put to a stop. The first measure: In the future, cannabis prescriptions may only be made after prior, personal doctor-patient contact. "It is regulated that the prescription of cannabis flowers for medical purposes may only be made after personal contact between a doctor and the patient in the doctor's office or during a medical home visit. This excludes treatment exclusively via video consultation," the draft law states. Previously, it was possible for patients to obtain cannabis by completing an online questionnaire on a telemedicine platform and having the cannabis flowers sent via cooperating mail-order pharmacies. However, since the legislature ruled out an absolute ban on remote treatment by doctors in 2018, Warken's draft now stipulates that the possibility of a video consultation is excluded, at least for the initial prescription of cannabis flowers for medical purposes. "For follow-up prescriptions, one consultation every four quarters is provided. In group practices, follow-up prescriptions do not necessarily have to be issued by the same doctor, but must be issued in the same doctor's office." Advice and information in the pharmacy The second measure proposed in the draft: Cannabis flowers for medicinal purposes may no longer be mail-ordered to end consumers. Instead, comprehensive information and advice must be provided in person at the pharmacy. Marketing cannabis by mail order is "too risky" and "inappropriate with regard to patient safety." Warken's draft law emphasizes the health protection of cannabis patients as the fundamental motive for the planned tightening of regulations: "When treating with cannabis flowers for medical purposes, personal medical contact with the person being treated is sensible and necessary, among other things, due to the risk of addiction as well as other health risks, side effects, and adverse drug reactions," it states. Furthermore, the patient must explicitly consent to treatment with cannabis flowers for medical purposes in light of the existing opportunities and risks. "Such a detailed medical history, physical examination, information, and consent should be carried out in person between the doctor and patient when prescribing cannabis flowers for medical purposes as part of the on-site medical treatment and consultation." It remains to be seen whether the draft law from the CDU-led coalition will also be approved by the coalition partner, the SPD, which is responsible for the current legal situation. An inquiry by LTO to the SPD parliamentary group in the Bundestag remained unanswered at the time of publication of this article. Left and FDP warn of “economic stimulus package for the black market” Criticism comes from the opposition: According to Ates Gürpinar, health expert for the Left Party in the Bundestag, the draft law describes "the government's inadequacies – both in dealing with medications and with recreational cannabis." According to the MP, the growing number of prescriptions for medical cannabis is a direct result of the inadequate implementation of the Consumer Cannabis Act. Legal, low-threshold purchasing options are still lacking. "Restricting the Medical Cannabis Act without simultaneously creating genuine and legal purchasing channels for recreational cannabis is not only unrealistic – it continues to criminalize consumers and expose them to all the risks of the black market," Gürpinar told LTO . Linda Heitmann, the expert responsible for the issue in the Health Committee for Alliance 90/The Greens, also criticized the draft* to LTO : "To only address the Medical Devices Act (MedCanG) now instead of reforming remote prescriptions as a whole is not logical, but stigmatizing." She opposes the "general suspicion against cannabis consumers of using the option of remote prescriptions for recreational purposes." A reform of remote prescriptions, according to Heitmann, should apply to all medications, not just cannabis. "Especially given that medication addiction is a huge problem in our society, we need clearer rules for all medications." Christine Lütke, the former drug policy spokesperson for the FDP, who has since left the Bundestag, also spoke out. She had contributed to the law and pushed for cannabis liberalization. "A complete ban on remote prescriptions and mail-order sales of cannabis flowers won't solve any problems; it's an economic stimulus package for the black market," Lütke criticized in an interview with LTO . Mail-order sales of flowers must also remain possible, both for the benefit of patient care and for the benefit of domestic cannabis companies. "A complete ban puts the axe to a developing ecosystem of producers, pharmacies, and wholesalers, with all the negative consequences for local jobs and tax revenues."

twitterfluechtling

>So it didn't? And ampel delivered great government and improved german economy and living standards in first 1 or 2 years..? Because if so, I failed to notice. They kept the German economy afloat under very challenging circumstances you apparently didn't see / had entirely backwards. CDU/SPD did extend our dependency on Russian oil/gas and did sell the infrastructure in Germany at least partially to Russian companies, to the extent they didn't have any oversight on our national gas reserves leading up to the military escalation. We came just out of COVID, the global economy was downtrodden. Under these circumstances, I think it comes close to a miracle we didn't crumble. \> Hydrogen will not be a thing. Even Toyota killed it's hydrogen r&d years ago. For cars, yes. I'm not talking about cars. \> Educate yourself. Dito. \> If I remember correctly -and I do- it was actually germany goverment/brusel The German government doesn't sit in Brussel. Which one is it, EU or German government? \> who pressured european automakers into EVs, even if it was absolutely clear that europe can't compete with china in EV manufacturing. No rare earth mining, no chemical industry left, no steelmakers left, extremely expensive electricity. EV sales went up globally, German car makers live from export. Gasoline cars also require steel. German car makers do produce EVs, they absolutely sucked due to bad software etc. That's not excused by shortage of rate earths or anything.

twitterfluechtling

> So it took him only 3 years to realize the issue? How do you assume the betrayal started right at the start? > Regarding the russian gas - I doubt they had any alternative, once energiewende was in full swing. You have it backwards. They axed green energy. And green energy requires backup, but the concept started by the Ampel (traffic semaphore) is quite viable: You can use excess green energy to generate hydrogen and use that, either directly for heating or to convert it back to electricity using gas power plants. Again, that would have required some investment over the years instead of axing all support for renewable energies, as was done by CDU/CSU. They are actually quite infamous for propping up the car industry in Germany for over a decade, shielding them with subsidies so well as to prevent any pressure to invest in EVs, while the world moved on. CDU/SPD preferred to stregnthen economic ties with Russia, hoping extensive trade would lead to more peaceful colaboration in other areas - the concept worked for West/Central Europe in the aftermath of WW II, after all.

twitterfluechtling

> Investments into energy transition were NOT due to ukraine war (it started 15+ years before). The investment to energy transition actually started ~20+ years ago, last time SPD/green were in a coalition. It was axed again about 16 years ago by the grand coalition in favour of more extensive deals with Russia. The grand coalition supported North Stream 2, strongly opposed by Greens. This is a vulnerability Russia exploited before starting the "3 day special operation": The biggest storage was owned by a Russian company, and Gazprom only delivered miniscule amounts leading up to the war and made us extremely vulnerable. We were at the brink og collapse when the traffic semaphore coalition took over 2022, and the grand coalition either didn't know or didn't care. https://www.n-tv.de/wirtschaft/Wie-Rehden-unabhaengig-vom-Russen-Gas-wird-article23373872.html > No one cares. If you have rogue partner, you step down and invoke early elections. Anything else is insanity. ... which is what chancellor Scholz did as soon as it became evident the situation with the FDP was not just a disagreement, but malicious intent. That's why, after the election Sept. 21st 2021, the next election was this year January instead of this year September.

Balticseer

German conservative leader Friedrich Merz failed to secure enough support in the Bundestag's first vote to be elected the country’s next federal chancellor. The result comes as an unexpected setback for the newly formed coalition between his CDU/CSU bloc and the Social Democratic Party (SPD). The Bundestag now has 14 days to elect Merz or another candidate for chancellor by a simple majority. 6 votes missing. its secret vote. so after some beating by whip he will get in. problem is he suppose to be swear in today. and his lots of meetings with world leaders including ukraine planned. so how long it could be delayed could fuck up some plans i been hearing wshipers.

Covid19-Pro-Max

Don’t sell. This is never going through with CDU and even if it does they couldn’t legally do it retroactively (they didn’t with Abgeltungssteuer either back then) so you would still have time to act once it’s announced. And even in the ridiculous parallel universe where SPD would pass a tax law to retroactively tax your holdings, your stack is big enough that you could simply not sell it and take credit with the BTC as collateral if you needed the money. But again, this is not going to happen retroactively so there would be time to lock your winnings before the new law.

M3rch4ntm3n

CDU and SPD were fumbling around with this stupid zero debt policy for decades. Now they come back for the rescue...just LOL. Same same every time...

Sob_Rock

Up until SPD, all the power ranger themes were bangers

brintoul

Dang, I wish I knew. I’m gonna continue to hold mine and hope to trim my losses…. Most folks would not recommend holding this long, and they’re pretty much right… hopefully one of the bumpy brains will weigh in. I’m hoping SPD continues to work for me.

SnS2500

There are always ways to make money in a consistent bear or bull market. SH, BTAL, SPD, SGOV, GLD (probably)....

JuggernautLoose5299

I was wondering if the dividends on the spy Are exactly correlated with the dividends given up by the companies within the portfolio such that You could Take the dividend given out by each company in any time frame, Take the proporpin of those companies in the net asset value of the ET.F, I'd figure out what and what the dividend given out by the spy would be almost exactly a minus management fee... does anyone know that? If I'm not mistaken, that's how SPD works... But I don't know if it works like that for the spy.

JuggernautLoose5299

I was wondering if the dividends on the spy Are exactly correlated with the dividends given up by the companies within the portfolio such that You could Take the dividend given out by each company in any time frame, Take the proporpin of those companies in the net asset value of the ET.F, I'd figure out what and what the dividend given out by the spy would be almost exactly a minus management fee... does anyone know that? If I'm not mistaken, that's how SPD works... But I don't know if it works like that for the spy...

clickrush

> The CDU/CSU and SPD parties agreed to a mammoth spending package on Tuesday, the headline of which was a €500 billion ($535 billion) fund over 10 years dedicated to upgrading German infrastructure, including across transport, energy, and digitization. Fucking finally. I couldn't watch my neighbors anymore saving themselves to death.

defnotIW42

Eh - it all depends on who will win the upcoming reorganisation of the social democrats. There are alot of fairly conservative social democrats out there. We will have to wait out the coalition talks. I can sadly imagine a scenario where the SPD follows a law and order route with Cannabis getting a rollback to 2017. 2017 was for the companies not a great baseline - yes it was legal for medicinal - but that didn’t generate cash as it was too restricted

I_am_Nerman

They surged to second place. SPD dropped all the way to 3rd place. The Center-Right party of the CDU won. Great day for Germans. Common sense is returning across the EU.

Educational-Year4108

afd is something around 20%. it will be more likelyCxU/ SPD which is more neutral of the conservative approach of CxU/Greens

vanarnd1

I believe the CDU had agreed to not form a coalition government with the AfD, which would mean they would have to work with one of the other parties like SPD which would support cannabis, making it harder to repeal the law.

kritzfeld

German here, I can assure you, CDU will win and form a coalition with the center-party SPD. Do with that Info what you like. 🫡

Alternative-Knee7438

Who has to win in your opinion for it to go up? No SPD, no CDU, no Grüne, no FDP for sure, they are the ones that majorly ran things into the ground. 51% AFD? German economy is fukked for atleast the next 10 years without anything radical happening.

Busy-Bell-4715

It's great that you want to invest and that you're thinking of your future. You'll do well if you maintain this attitude. With that being said, do you have an emergency fund? I would recommend having at least a 2k that you have easy access to. Many people would have more depending on their circumstances (having kids, owning a home, etc). When I say easy access, I mean not invested in stock. Maybe a CD but ideally a savings account. Investing in your retirement is a great idea but it sounds like it's more important to to have money for a purchasing a home in the near future. Opening up a Roth and contributing a couple of hundred a month to it, investing in VOO or SPD (both ETFs) would be a good way to start with that. In general, I always recommend investing in ETFs like the ones I mentioned above. But be mindful of the fact that the stock market can tank on any given day. Investing in stocks is great for long term investing - I'm talking about decades. If you want to be sure to have money in the near future, the next few years, consider a safer option. Bond ETFs will give you a lower rate of return but will also give you a dividend which you can either spend or reinvest and are less likely to tank in the near future. Hope that this helps.

Busy-Bell-4715

It's great that you want to invest and that you're thinking of your future. You'll do well if you maintain this attitude. With that being said, do you have an emergency fund? I would recommend having at least a 2k that you have easy access to. Many people would have more depending on their circumstances (having kids, owning a home, etc). When I say easy access, I mean not invested in stock. Maybe a CD but ideally a savings account. Investing in your retirement is a great idea but it sounds like it's more important to to have money for a purchasing a home in the near future. Opening up a Roth and contributing a couple of hundred a month to it, investing in VOO or SPD (both ETFs) would be a good way to start with that. In general, I always recommend investing in ETFs like the ones I mentioned above. But be mindful of the fact that the stock market can tank on any given day. Investing in stocks is great for long term investing - I'm talking about decades. If you want to be sure to have money in the near future, the next few years, consider a safer option. Bond ETFs will give you a lower rate of return but will also give you a dividend which you can either spend or reinvest and are less likely to tank in the near future. Hope that this helps.

Low-Refrigerator5031

It's the SPD's problem. VW is big part of Germany's economy and no politician will let them go under. So the union will get paid out of the public purse.

MontyNinjaPython

This is not true. The minor coalition party of 5% keeps wanting to cause a ruckus. The major coalition parties Greens and SPD have laughed it off.

No_I_in_Threes0me

This is a maybe. Some will try to bust me down but it will depend on how the plan document is written, and this coming from a former retirement plan auditor. If the plan is written that the match is truly based on a % of total compensation then yes, you are correct, but I have seen plans base the match on a per payroll basis and needs to meet this match criteria payroll by payroll so if you max earlier in the year, and don’t have contributions due to this in say November and December, then you could be missing out. You need to read the plan document and / or SPD (summary plan description) to fully understand the matching dollars that are provided. The plans that I have seen this happen with is to ease the payroll issues with people changing during the year with increases and decreases, avoid a “square up” at the end of the plan year with testing, and limit some administration issues and hassles that happen with them.

predatarian

You are right that Merkel's CDU put the final nail into the nuclear coffin because she was afraid the Fukushima panic caused by the grunen and the SPD could lose her the election. The left using Merkel's weakness to dodge responsibility for 50 years of anti nuclear propaganda is just sad and typical.

MobofDucks

Like all the other waste facilities that should be safe for thousands of years, but started leaking radiation after like 2 decades. Don't get me wrong, it would be awesome if we have finally a solution for the issues, but we will have to wait how anything but the first trial deposit run that happened last month will work out. And then properly control it. Its doable, but my trust in the repositories is low currently. You do also realize that the government that killed nuclear energy was conservative lead? With Schröder already having been nearly 10 years out of office and being seen as a crazy old guy? And that the current SPD lead government actual tried to get around shutting down the plants they legally had to? You can make it a german thing, but it is hilariously delusional to make this a leftern thing.

Xtianus21

lol ahhh. Well i say everyday for a period (of time) of roughly 6/120k SPD. I think it makes sense no?

ApostleThirteen

The regional pilot projects are all but "carved in stone" in the regions that want them. Besides, the CDU, Greens and the SPD are still bigger.

ImpossibleJoke7456

It really should be referred to at SPD. SPX makes is seem like the S & P 10.

InIce1234

You should read less SPD propaganda backed by lobby economists like Fratzscher. In reality, GDP growth got downgraded once more, many small and medium-sized companies (which are the backbone of the german economy) are gone forever and larger companies like Otto, Michelin, Viessmann or Continental are leaving Germany. With reference to the DAX... the stock market isn't the economy.

defnotIW42

Funny remark from my local tv station who picked up on a sorta random question towards chancellor scholz while he is currently touring through China. So i guess even the PRC is looking at the development on our front. “What’s the situation in Berlin like after the cannabis legalization was passed?” That’s what a young Chinese student asks Chancellor Scholz during his trip to Shanghai. Apparently, the student is concerned about his health. The Chancellor could reassure him. Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD), during his visit to China, defended the cannabis legalization in Germany and gave tips on behavior in Berlin. He stated that the aim of the regulation, which has been in effect since April 1st, is to reduce cannabis consumption rather than increase it by bringing it out of a gray area. This was said on Monday at Tongji University in Shanghai in response to a question from a student who will be studying in Berlin from September and expressed concern about cannabis consumption there. The student wanted to know from the Chancellor what he should consider as a student in Berlin “if I don’t want to try cannabis at all and don’t want to endanger my own health.” He had read that students in Germany are now growing cannabis in apartments. This is not legal in China. “That’s why I’m very worried.” Scholz said the answer is quite simple: “Don’t smoke.” He himself is now almost 66 and has “never smoked cannabis.” Scholz countered the impression that everyone in Berlin is now walking around with joints: “If you study in Berlin, you can roam around all the time and you won’t meet anyone who does such things.” Shanghai is the second stop of the Chancellor’s three-day visit to China after Chongqing. On Tuesday, he will continue to Beijing for political talks with President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang.

pitchfork_2000

Oh that makes sense thanks for clarifying. Our LTL and SPD freight costs are 5x since March 1, it’s crazy. Amazon is making us ship each pallet to different FC’s across the country 1500 miles away. Believe it or not, Chinese sellers don’t have to pay the placement fee and not only that, their freight costs are cheaper than mine — coming from China!

betteringyou

We just shipped out 1548 lbs across 34 boxes via SPD. 41 SKUs with 2558 units in total No placement fee (thankfully), $544 shipping via UPS which comes out around $0.35/lb. A little higher than usual, but nothing even close to what I am hearing other people reporting. Not sure what we are doing right, but we have dodged the placement fee everyday this week, and our inbound UPS costs are the same compared to earlier this year and 4Q2023.

betteringyou

Our SPD costs have remained the same, still around $0.30/lb to ship out to fba. I will keep an eye on our shipment later today and see if our rates have gone up any.

pitchfork_2000

Yeah you can dodge the placement fee with SPD (and also LTL) but the freight cost is through the roof. We’re seeing SPD prices go up from $9 a box to $45 for the same exact box. You’re lucky if it somehow isn’t impacting your freight costs, good luck!

betteringyou

Do you guys do SPD? We have shipped out around 7k units since march 1st, each shipment consisting of around 35 big 45 lb boxes with various skus. Have dodged the placement fee every single time. If you do LTL, i can totally see where you run into issues.

pitchfork_2000

I do around $10M ARR on Amazon and this represents about a $600,000 hit to our PROFIT each year. SPD is getting hit hard too as well. If you’re doing $5M ARR on Amazon, you should be well aware of this (and concerned) unless you do 100% FBM than that’s a different story.

betteringyou

As a $5M+ ARR 3rd party seller who is pretty balls deep in the amazon selling community, these fees really only mess with the smaller scale sellers who most consumers really don't even purchase from anyways. I am talking people running their business out of their garage, and those who complain that Amazon is the reason their business isn't successful, rather than their own actions. This has little to no impact to the big dogs who have API loopholes, use SPD for their shipments, and are producing large enough volume for their shipments where the placement fee is irrelevant becuase their shipments would already be getting split to multiple locations. The low-inventory fee sucks, but like all other new fees sellers face from Amazon, we offset the fees by passing it off to the customer. This post also fails to reconigze the decreased fulfillment and referral fees, which for some, may be a net-positive compared to past years. This is not a catastrophic change to established sellers.

youngbutgood

From a brief look at the composition of the Bundesrat, it does not appear that the CDU and CSU have enough votes to take the German cannabis bill to mediation. They would need some votes from SPD, Greens, FDP and the Left. From my understanding all those parties are pro cannabis. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German\_Bundesrat

MDeCicco_

The traffic light factions have concluded their negotiations on the cannabis law. The deputy parliamentary group leader of the Greens, Maria Klein-Schmeink, said on Friday in Berlin that the law could come into force on April 1st. The Bundestag still has to vote on the draft. Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD) had named the week from February 19th to 23rd for the law to be passed in parliament. The Federal Council also still has to deal with the plans.

FairCheek6825

This is a gpt translation for those that wondered. The Ampel Coalition has resolved its disagreements on the planned legalization of cannabis. The law could be in effect by April 1, as stated by the Vice-Faction Leaders Konstantin Kuhle (FDP), Maria Klein-Schmeink (Greens), and Dagmar Schmidt (SPD) to the German Press Agency in Berlin. However, it still needs approval from the Bundestag, and Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD) aims for parliamentary approval between February 19 and 23. The Bundesrat also needs to review the plans. The vice-faction leaders assert that the regulations mark a significant milestone for modern drug policy, strengthening prevention and improving health, child, and youth protection. They claim the law will decriminalize consumers, effectively combat the black market, and evaluate its impact on child and youth protection and organized crime promptly, with input from the Federal Criminal Police Office. There have been no substantial changes to the plans, with SPD, Greens, and FDP agreeing in November to remove cannabis from the list of prohibited substances in the Narcotic Drugs Act. Starting April 1, 2024, adults will be allowed personal cultivation and possession of specific quantities. Clubs for communal cultivation are set to be permitted from July 1. The legalization aligns with the Ampel Coalition Agreement, although SPD's internal concerns in January delayed the parliamentary decision.

Blox05

Again, it doesn’t go into a separate plan or 401k the money goes into separate sources. When you get your statement you’ll see the different buckets of money. The match is also going to be in the same 401(k) and just a different, separately recordkept source. Find your plan document, or SPD and read it. Then you can stop making ignorant statements about having a Roth 401(k) that’s different from your “traditional 401(k).

jakejakeson123

Members of the SPD party who's votes are needed to pass the vote changed their mind. Like here is a quote from a SPD member from a 4 days ago "Naturally, talks are being held on the cannabis law. I still hope they will lead to the realization that this law must not be passed under any circumstances,”

DaveHervey

Translated by Google Berlin (dts) – According to Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD), the cannabis legalization, which has been postponed several times, will be passed at the end of February. “I continue to assume that the cannabis law will be passed in the Bundestag in the week from February 19th to 23rd and can then apply from April 1st,” Lauterbach told “Welt am Sonntag”.

NattyLightLover

I sold some naked UVXY calls when SPD was only down 1-2 points. Drove to work, checked my phone.. saw it was down 45 😳

Many_Easy

Dealers can then carry a lot of fabric around with them without any risk Status: 08:32 am | Reading time: 4 minutes Kaja Klapsa By Kaja Klapsa Internal Politics Editor Federal Minister of Health Karl Lauterbach (SPD) Federal Minister of Health Karl Lauterbach (SPD) Source: Getty Images; PA/ Metodi Popow Montage: Infographic WORLD, Anna Wagner Now the SPD faction colleagues of Minister of Health Lauterbach are blocking the vote on his cannabis legalization law. Domestic politician and ex-policeman Fiedler notes "fundamental content-related problems": Lauterbach's plan would strengthen organized crime, for example. ADVERTISEMENT 196 Comments WORLD: Mr. Fiedler, the SPD faction is blocking the adoption of the cannabis law next week in the Bundestag at short notice. Why? ADVERTISEMENT Sebastian Fiedler: Because the internal consultations with us domestic politicians had unfortunately not yet taken place. The externally communicated agreement of the traffic light was misleading to the extent that there was only an agreement among the health politicians. After all, I have been making significant domestic political concerns publicly clear for half a year. Personally, I would therefore not agree with this bill. I am not alone in this attitude in the group. PLEASE ALSO READ Hospital staff pushing gurney and equipment in hallway(blurred motion) DRUG-INDUCED PSYCHOSIS Psychosis through hashish - Like a roaring hole that swallowed me WORLD: There is an assumption that the group leader only wants to postpone the time of adoption - cannabis legalization shortly before Christmas in times of the budget crisis might not be so well received by citizens. ADVERTISEMENT Fiedler: That's nonsense. It is about fundamental content-related problems with the law, which I have also presented publicly several times. The agreement presented has nothing to do with the coalition agreement or with the SPD election program. Actually, the law should create a licensed distribution of cannabis in specialist stores and the legalization of the entire supply chains ... WORLD: ... but this was not possible due to legal problems. Fiedler: Right. But we would have had strong control of the state. Instead, the focus is now on home cultivation at home. A project that I completely reject. You are also not allowed to burn schnapps at home, restrictive requirements rightly apply to alcohol. It would be allowed for all adults. But if only one percent of all German households grow cannabis in the future and everyone has 50 grams at home according to the current status, we would be at 20 tons that are uncontrolled in the market. Self-cultivation urgently needs to be removed from the law. Sebastian Fiedler, 50, has been an interior politician of the SPD parliamentary group since 2021. Previously, the Chief Detective was chairman of the Federation of German Criminal Investigation Officers Sebastian Fiedler, 50, has been an interior politician of the SPD parliamentary group since 2021. Previously, the Chief Detective was chairman of the Federation of German Criminal Investigation Officers Source: picture alliance/dpa WORLD: Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD) argues that when people grow at home or in jointly organized clubs, fewer of them went to the dealer. This also curbs organized crime. Fiedler: The last sentence is not correct. Because what do the dealers do when they have fewer customers? The mafia will not go to the employment office or open a car workshop, but will continue to offer the material - especially to children and young people, for whom cannabis remains illegal. ADVERTISEMENT There is also a risk that the mafia could increase its business with other substances such as fentanyl and crack. I dare to doubt whether this would be a step forward in terms of health policy. Cannabis legalization would not make organized crime less than a cent or weaken it. In some areas, it would even have advantages. PLEASE ALSO READ Man in psychoactive smoke cloud: Cannabis can trigger psychosis DRUGS AND PSYCHOSES Gene analyses reveal who should keep their hands off cannabis WORLD: Why advantages? Fiedler: In the future, everyone should be allowed to have 25 grams of cannabis in public space. It is right to no longer prosecute consumers. But since about half a gram is enough for a joint, 25 grams would be about 50 joints. It is not possible to explain to me why you are allowed to carry so much with you if you are only a consumer. This leads to an excellent sales situation for small dealers and organized crime. The dealers can then carry a lot of material around with them completely safely and are only not allowed to be caught at the moment of handover. I also think it's wrong to be allowed to smoke smoke 100 meters next to the school. Of course, this is bad with regard to prevention. We urgently need greater distances. In addition, no exceptions have been made in the area of critical infrastructure. Cannabis use is said to be prohibited in the military sector. So far, no exceptions have been provided for airports, power plants, police facilities or prisons. "Do I also say with coke, I'll release it at some point?" The traffic light has started with the claim to be a coalition of progress. This includes the symbolic legalization of cannabis. WELT politics editor Nikolaus Doll is ambivalent. Source: WORLD WORLD: As a second pillar of legalization, it is intended to be possible in the future to sell cannabis in licensed specialist shops in model regions. Is that on the brink now? Fiedler: No. However, this should have been the first step. Unfortunately, the order has been completely reversed. The model projects should first have been implemented and observed what is changing in terms of health policy and criminal policy. Instead, however, many wanted quick results in the traffic light to satisfy the stoner shouting loudly on the Internet. They wanted to serve the clientele of the cannabis lobby. In the German Bundestag, however, we are responsible for the rules for the coexistence of all people in Germany and must also keep an eye on security and crime developments. INTERVIEW Young teenager smoking marihuana cigarettes. Social problems, addiction concept. Getty ImagesGetty Images WARNING CALL FROM A PEDIATRICIAN "Cannabis release should serve special traffic light customers - at the expense of the children" ADVERTISEMENT WORLD: What do you expect from Lauterbach? Fiedler: I know Mr. Lauterbach well and appreciate him very much. But in the current negotiations he is out of the game. It is now the turn of the Bundestag, no longer the federal government. As an SPD parliamentary group, we will enter the consultations internally. For me it is clear: If the law remained unchanged, I would vote no. This is a decision of conscience for me. With my professional CV, I cannot be responsible for a decision that speaks against any criminal political reason.

MeetIndependent1812

Thanks for the overview. Who in particular is the problem in the SPD? I doubt that they hold back a full bill only because of Andy Grotes issue with it. Or are there more Nay sayers?

Schaf-im-Wolfspelz

If CDU/CSU should get to be in government again, they would need SPD, Grüne or FDP as partner. They certainly won't form a government with AFD (at least not anytome soon). So to get rid of the legalisation law, they would have to vote with AFD and against their coalition partner and risk the coalition that brought them back to power. That's just not worth it for them. Won't happen.

TheStonedEconomist

I work in this industry. Not common to move around that frequently. As others have said, it could be due to fees, it could also be the HR guy getting sold to. Moving the plan like this is a lot of work, so it could also be the HR guy just trying to keep his job by creating work for himself to do. Either way, I would review the funds you participate in frequently. Definitely after each transition to a new provider. Oftentimes, fund options may be different and your funds will be transferred to the “most similar” fund, which is not always done in the best way. Also pay attention to changes in a possible employer match too! To answer your last question, it is hard to say for sure bc I don’t know the specifics of your situation. But, GENERALLY, I recommend contributing to your employer offered retirement plan first (even if there is no match) due to expense ratios in the funds being lower. Most plans should offer a Target Date Fund that is GENERALLY a good option. Then, Roth IRA like you are doing is great. Having both is the best option, if your budget allows you to. Hope this helps. Happy to answer any more questions or look at your companies plan to give you more specific info if it would be helpful (locate the Summary Plan Description (SPD) document, it will have all the details of the plan structure).

malusrosa

All but one of the 9 stores are new “small format” Target locations opened just since 2018. They’re more like a CVS than a traditional Target, and that confuses customers quite a lot. They don’t want to admit that this business plan they spent a ton of money on developing was a failure, so they’re blaming it on crime. The two stores closing in Seattle experienced less shoplifting/SPD calls than the three full format stores in the city: https://www.seattle.gov/documents/Departments/CityAuditor/auditreports/ORC_Audit_20230721.pdf (Page 8). Those full size stores are profitable because they sell TVs and clothing and legos, the small format stores are a dud because it’s just a bodega

MeetIndependent1812

Very annoying to read. One needs to keep in mind that these politicians sharing their doubts are like the rotten eggs of their own party SPD. I am f.ex. Not surprised to read Andy Grote on the list. It's comparable with a Joe Manchin situation. You think their in your team, but actually they just wanna create some noise so anyone hears them. Bunch of losers. I guess however the Ampel will push it through this year. They need some wins after all their fighting and this is already so watered down that it does not really hurt.

Old_Leather

Nearly all the plans I’ve worked with in the last 17 years have the features I mentioned. Of course one should check their SPD, or Plan description. Still doesn’t change the suggestion. One should know all the advantages and disadvantages of both and make up their own mind.

sikeig

Well they were part of it with mostly the SPD. But the CDU was everything but conservative, Merkel became very liberal and ruled against conservative voices inside her party with an iron fist. They even called themselves 'The Middle' at one point. Look what happened to Hans-Georg Maaßen or others that criticized the course. She even overturned the election of the democratically elected minister of Thüringen. Letting 10 million immigrants, mostly from north africa and arabic countries into Germany was probably the most drastic left leaning policy in German history.

IranianWarlord62

If you look at the legislative process, the only thing i am good at, you will see that the first bill wasn’t just watered down because of EU Law, but also because there was severe backlash from the medical Associations, Media, Conservative Thinktanks and even the Party of Lauterbach himself. That is partly the reason to why the bill is what it is now. Another reason is the current domestic landscape, there is somewhat a lurking economic crisis in Germany (atleast according to projections) and a growing dissatisfaction with the current government. Hence the Conservative and Nazi Opposition Parties are leading the Polls since a year. (Visible push to the right) There is this growing trend by the 2 Governing Parties (SPD and Liberals) to go more to the right, in hopes of getting taking votes away from the right. Cannabis Policy doesn’t fit into that metric. Lastly, the second Law needs the German States Approval, due to this push to the right. That approval is never going to happen.

classicsqueezeplay

Interesting period starting today if you’re invested in the cannabis sector. Scholz will have to do some convincing with SPD members already out in opposition. https://www.dw.com/en/germany-to-unveil-bill-to-legalize-pot/a-66545963

chris_ut

$SPD is leveraged short utilities etf. $KOLD is leveraged short NG ETF. Holding these for 6 months super risky wait for the catalyst to jump in.

hydratereload

translation: "There will still be minor changes, the SPD politician told the "Rheinische Post". He did not give details. Lauterbach reiterated his announcements that legalisation would be accompanied by a campaign to draw attention to the risks of consumption, especially for younger people. With his law, Lauterbach wants to allow the cultivation and distribution of cannabis within special associations, so-called cannabis clubs, under possibly strict rules. In addition, adults are to be allowed to possess 25 grammes of the narcotic and to grow a maximum of three plants for personal use."

El_Grappadura

Did you just call the SPD leftist? The party who brought about the biggest neoliberal policy with the Agenda2010 in Germany ever? The party that tolerated the ever increasing wealth inequality for decades? The party that tolerates a ~12€ minimum wage? I could go on... I wish the SPD would return to their actual social core. They haven't been making leftist politics for a long time...

NativeTxn7

Not all 401k plans allow after tax contributions. OP would need to ask HR or check the plan docs/SPD.

Golden1881881

Tents on the bed of Rivians after they get stolen , and can’t be recovered because now someone lives in it and Squatters Rights. Drive by the U district down I5 and some beautiful places on Lake City. They rent for $50 a month that can be paid in stolen electricity from local business to charge the stolen Rivian. The bathrooms that are doorway of retail stores are very convenient to poop at , and then walk into the store and take their napkins, wipe out front in front of shoppers, steal wallets, rinse and repeat . SPD will leaf you alone since they couldn’t prove that you knew the Rivian was stolen. It could have been borrowed by someone , who then lent it to you. It’s a Utopia here !

Deep_All_Day

Because the Roman numeral for 500 is D so if anything it would be SPD

halfbeerhalfhuman

As far as Germany goes, yes its confusing because the media outlets report things as fact when its just ideas based on a report that people misinterpreted as the report we were waiting for, when in fact it wasnt. We are waiting for a report/ ill package from Karl Lauterbach, the misinterpreted report was from the SPD (while yes Lauterbachis from the SPD, its not the report he announced). What i can tell you is there will be a official legalization proposal From Lauterbach later next week.

Connect_Builder_2215

For all native Germans: a new video from the weed lobby https://youtu.be/lM4xEyg-1Js He's saying his confidence in a complete leg bill getting passed slipped below 50%, because of the CDU SPD coalition in Berlin. With this coalition there is no majority in Bundesrat and convincing the CDU to vote for it is impossible. Decriminalization will happen. We'll receive the specifics of the bill very soon. Have a nice weekend.

MeetIndependent1812

It basically says that the first proposal of the Health Minister of SPD who scaled back the original intention to fully legalize recreational is not in line with what his partners from the coalition /the Liberals and the Green Party/ want. so in a nutshell: only the decriminalization that was proposed just before Easter is to be revised and they wanna come up with a new proposal that is still keeping in the recreational and all cities all countries in Germany approach.

halfbeerhalfhuman

The problem is what the SPD published last week, is just a paper on how they would handle it. Its also the first time the SPD is showing their stance on the topic publically that they are officially for Legalization. Maybe they also want to add more public pressure against the CDU who will likely try to block it. This is not the Coalition's statement. Last week i was getting downvoted on every thread for saying this is NOT what we were waiting for and that the bill will come from officials later. Well now here we are. If you are not German i understand it is very confusing, SPD, CDU, coalition, this guy, that guy saying this and that, who has a say, what does it mean etc. Its even hard for me as a German to get information on these things because they aren't talked about much on the news, but at least i know the people and kinda sorta know how the overly complicated system works here.

halfbeerhalfhuman

The pilot sites is a rumor. This is what the SPD wants, while the Minister of health is in the SPD it does not mean this is his proposal. We are still waiting for a statement from him

ApostleThirteen

He may not represent the SPD, but while the SPD may not be on-board concerning legalization and sales, they are agreeing on decrim and home cultivation. Legalization was their "pie in the sky". The pilot program and decrim were always the prize. Once the pilot plan if off the ground, and if they can keep the CDU down in the next elections, they'll get legalization within afew years.

Gahan1772

It's all rumors and bullshit until the bill drops. This whole strory from yesterday comes from a quote by the health minister stating that because of EU regulations legalization will not happen quickly. He has been saying that since last summer and he is not involved in writing or voting for the bill nor does he represent the entirety of the SPD party. Wait for the bill then celebrate/cry

CannaVestments

"Health Minister Karl Lauterbach wanted to legalize the drug as quickly as possible. Now the SPD leadership admits: This will probably not work for the time being. The obstacles in Brussels are apparently too great."

Connect_Builder_2215

SPD Party leadership released a position paper legalization isn't possible on short notice because of EU law. They will look for other possibilities like decr. and CSC's with selling still criminalized, similar to Spain. The wording in this is pretty negative regarding legalization, since eu law was well known before all of this and it won't change in the future. At least consumers will get weed and won't get criminalized, but this is bad news for publicly traded companies, since trade will still be criminalized. https://www.vice.com/de/article/z3mvmx/spd-spitze-cannabis-legalisierung-verschoben-so-gehts-jetzt-weiter

Connect_Builder_2215

SPD admitting legalisation in Germany is not possible, because of EU regulatory hoops. https://www.spiegel.de/politik/deutschland/spd-spitze-haelt-cannabis-legalisierung-kurzfristig-nicht-fuer-umsetzbar-a-dd5e4bd4-0060-410b-acc7-86be2460385d

Connect_Builder_2215

Quick summary on Germany: today's decriminalization hearing takeaways are: no decriminalization before/without legalization. SPD would rather decriminalize than legalize. FDP and grüne want to legalize and not decriminalize, because NL situation has to be avoided, in their opinion. All we can do is wait for Lauterbachs bill and see if it goes through both chambers. If it doesn't nothing will change at all in Germany it seems.

halfbeerhalfhuman

I thought Lauterbachs is SPD

Connect_Builder_2215

CDU CSU, AFD will vote against it linke could vote for it but they don't have enough seats to enable a majority. With the current Bundesrat it'll be impossible that seems pretty clear to me. Berlin coalition SPD CDU makes it more unlikely. If next regional elections ends up the same, then it's not gonna happening.

Connect_Builder_2215

U should know he has been expressing confidence all along. Issue will still be getting the law past. With minority in Bundesrat it still seems very unlikely. Also SPD still hasn't put legalization into their own program.

brintoul

Maybe my SPD will finally stop sucking.

posam

From the K: “Our non-marketable and other equity securies porolio primarily represents investments in venture capital and private equity funds, SPD-SVB, debt funds, private and public porolio companies and qualified affordable housing projects.” Also see page 64. Most of the caption is venture and other. Only 5 million is debt, which is probably the revolver. No chance they have a 2B revolver to make up this caption anyway.

MeetIndependent1812

Me too. Maybe that was before a CDU/SPD coalition in Berlin dawned upon us and they did not to look like total party poopers? Now with the balance in Bundesrat becoming in favor of conservatives, a full legalization at least to me seemed less realistic. But I am optimistic to be surprised by the opposite. Always offers still opportunities to decriminalize first and from there slip in a legalization light. How ever that could look like.

Connect_Builder_2215

No real news. Berlin voted could be a coalition consisting SPD and CDU . If that happens legalization bill is doomed to fail in house equivalent, before the bill has even been written.

Dulmut

Thats not how it works. in Germany, we have the SPD (social party germany), but this doesnt mean that theyre socialists. Its not even close to it. You americans have a fucked up definition of socialism. European governments have put social aspects into capitalism, thats all. And thats why our living standards are so high. Please educate yourself, europeans are NOT socialists, we are just considering social aspects of society/individuals above pure economic growth/profit and try to put regulations which ensure that the quality of life of a human stays above all other things.

VisualMod

>SCHOLZ'S SPD LOSES BERLIN ELECTION FOR FIRST TIME SINCE 1999 ^\*Walter ^Bloomberg ^[@DeItaone](http://twitter.com/DeItaone) ^at ^2023-02-12 ^12:42:08 ^EST-0500

Tiny_Interaction3704

"But according to ICBC, German Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD) said he is "certain" that the European Union (EU) will approve recreational cannabis legalization in the country by the end of March.

hydratereload

German Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD) has reiterated his timetable for cannabis legalization in Germany. His ministry will present a "very good solution" in the first quarter of the year, he told the Rheinische Post newspaper.He had "no reason whatsoever to doubt this timetable." Lauterbach is also certain that the EU will give the green light for this approach, he added. In October of last year, the German government already announced the key points of the partial decriminalization of cannabis. Accordingly, the drug is to be allowed to be sold to adults in licensed stores for "pleasure purposes".Private cultivation of up to three plants is also to be permitted. Source (german): https://presse-augsburg.de/lauterbach-bekraeftigt-zeitplan-fuer-cannabis-legalisierung/842123/

Hythlodaeus69

No, yeah. I’ll definitely check them out. Informative if nothing else. I started looking at SPD (and a couple other “downside convexity option overlay strategy” ETFs) and the expense ratio is kind of brutal. Probably won’t be buying in, but I definitely want to look deeper at their strategies. Thanks for the recommendation, I now have my nightly research set out for me haha

stukast1

Agree that Germany made the wrong decision about relying on Russian gas but I think it’s a stretch to call Gerard Schroeder and the SPD “crazy woke”

seecreetmee

0 degree and 100 degree water make on average a nice warm temperature. Same here with labour. You ignore the complete low wage sector generated by SPD in the early 2000s.

InIce1234

Because they are still sitting in the governemnt to this day (SPD, Linke).

WikiSummarizerBot

**[Gerhard Schröder](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerhard_Schröder)** >Gerhard Fritz Kurt "Gerd" Schröder (German: [ˈɡeːɐ̯haʁt fʁɪts kʊʁt ˈʃʁøːdɐ] (listen); born 7 April 1944) is a German lobbyist and former politician, who served as the chancellor of Germany from 1998 to 2005. From 1999 to 2004, he was also the Leader of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD). As chancellor, he led a coalition government of the SPD and Alliance 90/The Greens. Since leaving public office, Schröder has worked for Russian state-owned energy companies, including Nord Stream AG, Rosneft, and Gazprom. ^([ )[^(F.A.Q)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WikiSummarizer/wiki/index#wiki_f.a.q)^( | )[^(Opt Out)](https://reddit.com/message/compose?to=WikiSummarizerBot&message=OptOut&subject=OptOut)^( | )[^(Opt Out Of Subreddit)](https://np.reddit.com/r/StockMarket/about/banned)^( | )[^(GitHub)](https://github.com/Sujal-7/WikiSummarizerBot)^( ] Downvote to remove | v1.5)

mjoav

SPD holds SPY (or equiv) and downside protection via protective puts. Diversified and you don’t have to worry about interest rate risk.

Anderopolis

Keep pretending the Greens Shut down the powerplants, and ignore the fact that it was the SPD and CDU.

17684Throwaway

Man Germany did not went all in on solar, in large parts we fucking went back to coal and gas... The dumbass decision in 2011 wasn't going off nuclear over time it was not building up solar / wind or anything that's not goal and gas. Years of CDU/SPD majority really let to a good bunch of stagnation in that and many other regards.

mynewaccount5

OP check your SPD. You might not have to pay it back right away.

Defiant_Race_7544

“So when might people be able to legally buy weed in Germany? The government will likely finish drafting its law to go before the Bundestag sometime before the end of this year, before finally coming into force in early 2023. But it could take longer than that to set up all the supporting infrastructure. “I would say 2024 at the earliest,” SPD MP Dirk Heidenblut told Augsburger Allgemeine. “Where are we going to get so much legal, quality-controlled cannabis from so quickly? I’m not sure we’ll have huge cannabis fields here anytime soon.””

Deep-Ad-8525

SPD

unbuottawa

Why do people always blame the German Greens? Sure they were against nuclear power. But that party was only part in of government (as a junior partner) from 1998 to 2005 and from 2021 to now. The conservative CDU was in power for 16 straight years until last year. Germany’s current energy crisis is their fault (and the SPD to a lesser extent)

HandyManPat

>I called Fidelity and the associate wasn't 100% convincing. My 401k plan has some unique After-Tax requirements (e.g. 24-month hold before conversion) \[no that wasn't a typo!\] so I am quite experienced in dealing with Fidelity and After-Tax/MBDR processes. Never, ever discuss After-Tax in-service distributions, conversions, or plan rules with the front-line Fidelity call agents. Politely ask the agent to transfer you to the "Workplace Planning & Advice" team for assistance. They are specialized in MBDR and what your particular 401k SPD does or does not allow. For example, just yesterday I called Fidelity and the WPA team wasn't picking up the call transfer within the allotted time so the front-line agent circled back to "help" me. She had reviewed my account history of prior MBDR transactions and proceeded to immediately made several incorrect statements on what I could or could not perform with my 401k funds. I politely declined her assistance (again) and insisted that we wait for the WPA team. WPA team joined the call and knew -exactly- what to do. ​ >does it make sense to have funds in Roth IRA over a Roth 401k, in your experience? This is largely a function of the quality of your 401k plan fees and investment options, but there are other things to consider. MBDR out to a Roth IRA provides the ultimate control. Even though my 401k plan has excellent investment offerings, I MBDR to a Roth IRA so I don't have to separate employment to gain control of my contributions and gains. ​ >I know each 401k plan is different, but do there exist plans where the following is possible: I contribute after-tax dollars into 401k After-tax dollars are automatically converted to the Roth bucket of 401k ("in plan conversion") I rollover the after-tax dollars now in the Roth bucket, to a Roth IRA (while still being employed at the same place) \[???\] Regarding your original question, I'm not surprised you're hearing that -No-, the third option will not exist. I believe this is because once you MBDR to the Roth 401k you're bound by the plan rules for accessing your elective contributions. Thus, if you want to take advantage of the Roth IRA rules, which are obviously different from 401k rules then you need to MBDR directly to the Roth IRA. Again, this is allowed because the 401k plan specifically allows for it under the After-Tax rules which are separate and distinct from the elective rules. Make sense?

TheHonorX

Germany won’t build new nuclear plants because they signed the “Atomausstiegsgesetz” ( nuclear power phase-out law. They can only reboot their old coal plants and import massive amounts of gas from Algeria and Qatar. But yet again they have a left government ruled by ecologists (Die Grünen) and Social Democrats (SPD) so both options are very tricky but i guess that the coal plants will be rebooted anytime soon! It’s easier to reboot those plants than a nuclear plant especially in urgent matters like now where the likelyhood of being shutdown by Russia in the winter is very likely.