Germany's upper house, the Bundesrat, cleared the way to partially legalize cannabis on Friday, DW reports.

The law is supported by the government and had already passed in the Bundestag, but it could have been derailed by Bundesrat, which is made up of delegates from Germany's 16 state governments.

Some representatives in the chamber argued about negative consequences of the law, and a motion on Friday to send the law to a mediation committee threatened to delay the enforcement of the law.

However, the motion did not receive enough votes, clearing the way for cannabis to become legal on April 1.

Health Minister Karl Lauterbach advocated for the policy again on Friday, arguing that previous drug policy had failed and led to a black market.