In the first step of the controversial new law, adults over the age of 18 are now allowed to carry 25 grams of dried cannabis and grow up to three marijuana plants at home.
The changes bring Germany into effect with some of the most liberal cannabis laws in Europe, along with Malta and Luxembourg, which legalized recreational use in 2021 and 2023 respectively.
The Netherlands, known for its lenient approach to the drug, has tightened its approach in recent years to combat cannabis tourism.
As the law took effect at midnight, hundreds of people cheered as they gathered outside Berlin’s iconic Brandenburg Gate, many of them lighting up marijuana-laced cigarettes; one participant, a very happy 25-year-old Niyazis, called it “a little bit of extra freedom.”
The next step in the legal reform is that starting July 1, it will be possible to legally purchase weed in “cannabis clubs” in the country.
These regulated associations will be allowed to have up to 500 members each and will be able to distribute up to 50g of cannabis per person per month.
By then, “users will not have to tell the police where they bought the cannabis” if there is a street check, Georg Wurth, director of the German Cannabis Association, told AFP.
“Catastrophe”
Initial plans to allow cannabis to be sold in licensed shops were scrapped due to EU objections, but a second law is being drafted to try to sell the drug in shops in pilot regions.
The German government, a three-party coalition led by Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s Social Democrats, says legalization will help curb the growing black market for the substances.
But health organizations are concerned that legalization could lead to an increase in drug use among young people, who are at the greatest health risk.
Experts have warned that the use of cannabis in young people can damage the development of the central nervous system, which increases the risk of developing psychosis and schizophrenia.
“From our point of view, the law as it is written is a disaster,” Katja Seidel, a therapist at Berlin’s cannabis addiction center for young people, told AFP.
Even Health Minister Karl Lauterbach, a doctor himself, has said that cannabis use can be “dangerous”, especially for young people.
The government has promised a broad awareness campaign about the dangers and expanded support programs. She also emphasized that cannabis remains prohibited for people under 18 and within 100 meters of schools, kindergartens and playgrounds.
