At the stroke of midnight on 1 April, the area around Berlin’s famous Brandenburg Gate was shrouded in a fog of smoke emanating from the thousands of lit joints. The German Cannabis Association organised a smoke-in to celebrate the legalisation of the recreational consumption of cannabis (or marijuana). Around 1,500 people had assembled this spring night to celebrate publicly what was deemed illegal until then.
Masha M. was one of the revellers celebrating this decriminalisation of cannabis use. “I am happy because now I can plant my cannabis, which is excellent. Earlier, this was illegal. I have worked for a long time with drug addicts, and it is very important to remove this taboo on cannabis consumption and decriminalise it.”
33-year-old Markus H. attracted much attention thanks to his placard, which had the number 420 alongside the hemp leaf traced out with LED lights. Having gotten into trouble twice with the authorities, Mr. Markus was pleased that he would no longer have to worry about consuming cannabis in public.
On 23 February, German lawmakers approved the partial legalisation of cannabis, with 407 MPs voting for it, 226 voting against it, and four abstaining from voting. In Parliament, German Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (Social Democrats or SPD) noted that the cannabis policy in the last ten years had failed. “We want to pursue two goals with this regulation: to fight the black market for these drugs and improve the protection of children and young people.”
Mr. Lauterbach cited the doubling of cannabis consumption among 12 to 17-year-olds and 18 to 25-year-olds in the last ten years as a prime motivator to reconsider cannabis regulation. “I have also been against cannabis legalisation for years, but the study situation shows we need to offer something new here.”
The Christian Democrats (CDU/CSU), who sit in the Opposition, called the cannabis law an “absolute mistake”.
“The future limits on cannabis possession are a carte blanche for each small dealer to operate their business more or less openly. It will not be possible for the police and regulatory authorities to control the manifold and partly absurd regulations,” said Tino Sorge, the health policy spokesperson for the CDU/CSU parliamentary group.
While cannabis has been partially legalised, you still cannot buy it over the counter.
Acquisition rules
The German government joins other European nations, such as Malta and Luxembourg, when it comes to legalising recreational cannabis. However, many rules exist around acquisition and where one can consume it. Adults can possess up to 25 gm of them when outside, 50 gm at home, and three marijuana plants per person can be grown at home.
Non-profit Cannabis Social Clubs or cannabis growing co-operatives, which will start functioning from July 1, are the only legal organisations from where cannabis can be sourced. These clubs cannot sell marijuana over the counter, but a German resident has to become a member of the club and can only pre-order marijuana (50 gm per person per month; 30 gm if one is under 22 years). There would be no shops selling marijuana or its seeds in Germany per the regulation. If you are visiting Germany as a tourist, it’s next to impossible to procure marijuana legally.
Thorsten Dietrich, chairman of Berlin’s first Cannabis Social Club founded in 2016, expressed pleasure at the passing of the cannabis regulations. He had brought along a life-size sculpture of the hemp leaf, which many revellers used as a backdrop for clicking photographs.
“This is a historical moment. We have been fighting to make growing cannabis legal for our members. It has finally happened now. We are hoping that from July 1, our members can legally buy cannabis from us,” said Mr. Dietrich.
There are many restrictions, such as not smoking around people under 18, not smoking within 100 meters of schools, kindergartens, playgrounds, and sports facilities, and not smoking in pedestrian zones between 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Even within the cannabis social clubs, smoking is forbidden. Advertising of these cannabis clubs and cannabis products is prohibited. Derivatives of cannabis, namely edibles, hash brownies, oils, teas, and so on, are prohibited from sale. The cannabis grown at home cannot be sold to someone else either.
Mr. Dietrich noted that the regulations are still a bit complex. “We have contracted a couple of lawyers to clarify these things. Until then, I can’t say more on that,” said Mr. Dietrich.
First step
Steffen Geyer, the head of the Hemp Museum in central Berlin and the chairman of CSCD (an umbrella organization of German cannabis social clubs), conducted a discussion round with other experts in the hemp scene about the new regulations. The discussion took place in the Hemp Museum’s basement, which resembled an art enthusiast’s cosy living room. A wall surrounded by street art and cardboard cutouts with hemp leaf motifs all around formed the backdrop.
Mr. Geyer called this regulation a small step in the right direction as one gets the freedom to grow and consume cannabis.
“Germany has the most liberal cannabis law in Europe, but that may not last for long. Czech Republic and Lichtenstein are working on a different law, and they want to be less bureaucratic than Germany,” said Mr. Geyer, referring to the many rules surrounding acquiring cannabis and running social clubs.
When asked if the black market would drastically reduce, Mr. Geyer said he didn’t see that happening with the current regulations.
“These social clubs aren’t allowed to sell cannabis on the spot. As a member, you will need to tell the club how much cannabis you want, and you will have it three months later. You also participate in growing cannabis as a club member. This is fine for someone who wants to stock up, but for the occasional consumer, it’s not practical. Many people will not participate in these legal ways of acquiring cannabis,” said Mr. Geyer.
Another strange regulation that Mr. Geyer criticised was not allowing smoking within the cannabis social clubs.
“We expect the Federal Constitutional Court to get rid of this ruling, as it doesn’t make sense. You can go across the street and smoke in a bar, where you don’t have people with the necessary competence, where you don’t have a commissioner for the prevention of addiction, but in the social clubs, we have that,” said Mr. Geyer, noting that this was an attempt to make a restrictive law that the majority can accept.
Technically speaking, everyone who lit up their joints at the Brandenburg Gate on 1 April wasn’t on the right side of the law. Markus H., with the 420 LED sign, said, “Owning cannabis is fine. You just need to ensure it’s less than 25 gm when you are outside your house and are controlled by the police. I can refuse to tell the police where I got my cannabis from.”
“If you tell the police you got your cannabis from a dealer, then that’s an offence. But as long as you don’t tell them, you are fine legally,” said Mr. Geyer.
Apart from the Opposition CDU/CSU, the new cannabis regulations have also seen pushback from the medical association.
The head of the German Medical Association, Dr. Klaus Reinhardt, told a local public broadcaster that around 10% of cannabis users have an addiction problem, adding that regular consumption up to the age of 25 can interfere with the brain maturation process.
“From a medical point of view, it is clear that cannabis consumption, especially among adolescents and young adults, has negative consequences for memory and learning performance,” said Hamburg Medical Association’s chamber president, Dr. Pedram Emami, in a statement. Dr. Emami also noted that restrictions around cannabis use around school and youth facilities would be difficult to implement in practice.
Alexander Poitz, the deputy chairman of the German Police Union, told a local TV network that he respected the new cannabis rules but expected demand to spike during the first few months’ “chaos phase” and that police officers would encounter difficult situations with citizens.
“How the law will be enforced will be worth watching. I feel we will have more freedom in Berlin and Hamburg, whereas we expect more prosecutions in South Germany. We will see how local courts react. It’s a good chance that this law will be different in two years,” said Mr. Geyer, hinting that CDU/CSU-ruled states may try to make things difficult.
For now, though, everyone in the cannabis scene is busy with the next steps. For Mr. Geyer, this means organising educational workshops at the Hemp Museum about growing your own marijuana plants. For Mr. Dietrich, it’s setting up the cannabis-growing venues.
“We have finished one grow for the first two clubs we want to create. Starting next month, we’ll start building these venues, which hopefully will be ready by the beginning of July. Then we have three more venues in our plan, and we have to see if they are doable or not,” said Mr. Dietrich.
(Nimish Sawant is an independent journalist based in Berlin)
