Germany plans to legalise the possession of small amounts of cannabis for recreational use as well as its sale and production.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz's government said it would make it one of the first countries in Europe to make weed legal.
Health Minister Karl Lauterbach said that in a plan agreed upon today by the cabinet, acquiring and possessing up to 20 to 30 grams of cannabis will become legal.
Adults will also be allowed to buy cannabis from licenced premises, with Mr Lauterbach saying the market will be tightly regulated for recreational purposes among adults.
Lauterbach did not give a timeline for the plan, which would make Germany the second European Union country to legalise cannabis after Malta.
Lauterbach, of the ruling Social Democrats (SPD), said a survey estimated that about 4 million adults use cannabis in Germany, suggesting there is a huge black market with organised crime likely involved in the trade.
They hope that legalising marijuana would put an end to this.
According to the paper, private self-cultivation would be permitted to a limited extent. Ongoing investigations and criminal proceedings connected to cases no longer illegal would be terminated.
The government also plans to introduce a special consumption tax, as well as develop cannabis-related education and prevention work.
Lauterbach said that Germany's drug policy had to be renewed because the current policies weren't successful in limiting consumption.
He hoped that the new laws would implement better health policies as well as increased protection for minors.
Before it can be taken forward, the European Commission has to check whether the plan was viable under European and international law.
People would be able to buy it in specialist shops and possibly pharmacies, but advertising for cannabis products will be prohibited.
Germany's Finance Minister Christian Lindner said last month that cannabis could potentially be legalised by 2023.
But federal Drug and Addiction Commissioner Burkhard Blienert said it was questionable if the law could be implemented before 2024.
The governing coalition is expected to present a draft law at the end of this year or the beginning of next year.
But a specific bill will then be drafted again after the EU has no legal objections, therefore the plan detailed today could still change in the legislative process.
