Read the video transcript here
"Well, to be honest, I'm a stoner."
"I'm going to install a hidden camera and let's see what I'm getting now."
"There are a dozen or more deaths each year caused by these substances."
Cannabis legalization has never seemed so close as this fall.
"We can't go on like we do now."
More and more people in Germany smoke weed - the drug has arrived in the middle of society.
We embark on a journey through the German cannabis reality.
We want to find out where the plant has long since found its place - and what could change through legalization.
"What are you doing there?"
Fabian Pieper, DER SPIEGEL
»I'll install a hidden camera, we're here on Hamburg-St. Pauli and want to buy cannabis on the black market right away. This is one of the most famous transshipment points for cannabis here in Hamburg, Hafenstrasse, and let's see what we can actually get there. I have no idea what to expect and whether I'll get basil or really cannabis. "
It doesn't take long for several dealers to approach us, and we start talking to one of them.
For legal reasons we are not allowed to record the sound.
A memory log follows.
"Understood?"
"Yes. Do you have weed? "
"I have coke."
"No, I want grass."
“OK, I have Silver Haze. Five grams for 50. That's really good, good Haze. "
"I only want three grams."
"Ok, then give me 30 for three."
The dealer takes the money and disappears.
We do not know whether and with what he will return.
Now we have to wait and see.
The company Aphria operates near Neumünster far away from the illegal black market.
Behind thick reinforced concrete and monitored by over 400 cameras, the subsidiary of the Canadian cannabis producer Tilray is growing what is probably the best-secured plants in the republic - plant manager Thorsten Kolisch grants us access today.
Thorsten Kolisch, plant manager
»It is important that we have taken off our everyday clothes so that we don't bring any spores, calamities, you can imagine, no aphids or the like. Now we're entering the airlock. "
Anyone who wants to go into the production area has to be blown away with filtered air.
We and our equipment too.
Then Kolisch shows us what and how high-tech is grown here:
Thorsten Kolisch, plant manager
“Now let's take a look at the mother plant area, we have the extra opportunity to look at it from the outside so that we don't have to enter the room. And now there is a relatively surprising effect. To the human eye, it now appears extremely red to us. This is our special light recipe that we designed so that the mother plants get exactly the light recipes they need for their growth. "
Hemp is grown here on behalf of the state - but currently only for the medical market.
The cannabis active ingredient THC successfully alleviates symptoms in pain patients and multiple sclerosis sufferers, among others.
Thorsten Kohlisch, plant manager
"These are our lütten now."
Three varieties with resonant names are grown here: Bienville, Great Bear and Churchill, each with different THC contents, depending on the application - the big ones are the same.
Kolisch wants to check the condition of the plants there.
But before we go any further, we have to: Even more protective clothing.
"Then let's go visit Churchill."
A good ton of cannabis can be produced here per year - 2.6 would be permitted in all of Germany, but the competition is not yet on the market.
The demand for medicinal hemp in the country is significantly higher: According to the Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices, 9.4 tons were imported in 2020.
Couldn't patients make do with grass from the street in an emergency?
Thorsten Kolisch, plant manager
“For example, if a patient who is undergoing chemotherapy, and the immune system is down and there's a contamination, with a weak immune system, that could be lethal, so it could be fatal.
We try to give a pure product here and that can never be guaranteed on the street. Just through how many hands it went, so in fact with hand sweat and with everything that exists in the area. Where is it raised? They never have such filtered air, never such sterile conditions as we do.
«
Tilray not only produces medical cannabis worldwide, but also for the much larger leisure market in Portugal and Canada, for example.
They could also serve it in Germany, the capacities are there, only the laws are still missing.
"Does your heart bleed when you see this empty hall?"
Thorsten Kolisch, plant manager
“Sure, sure. From a business point of view, we try to do this as efficiently as possible. But since the capacities could be designed significantly higher, the heart of those who are economically determined will of course bleed, because much more would be possible, much more output possible.
«
Profit with grass.
All traffic light parties have also claimed this for themselves.
The FDP is hoping for billions in tax revenues, which in turn could then be put into addiction prevention.
Economists estimate the income and savings, for example through police and judicial costs, at up to 4.7 billion euros.
Where cannabis is legal in the long term, the black market is shrinking - this is also the case in Canada: in 2020, for the first time, more was sold in official cannabis shops than on the street.
Back in Hamburg.
Meanwhile something seems to be happening.
The street dealer comes back after a few minutes and gives us something.
Then we part ways.
"And? How was it?"
Fabian Pieper, DER SPIEGEL
"Successfully. I got three little bags with a green substance that smells like cannabis, it also looks like cannabis. I don't know what's really in there now, so let's see if we can find out what can actually be in there. "
And to find out, we send our sample to the Institute for Forensic Medicine at the University of Freiburg.
There, confiscated drug deliveries are analyzed for their ingredients.
But it will take a while before our letter arrives.
In the meantime we visit Bastian in the country.
It's actually called differently and doesn't want to be recognized either.
With good reason: Then Bastian grows cannabis himself.
Bastian
“Yeah, they're really big, the buds. So, I think that looks incredibly aesthetic, doesn't it? "
Bastian has been passionately growing his own weed for years - even if he risks a heavy fine.
For his two plants on the balcony of the shared apartment, depending on the THC content, he could face a fine or even imprisonment.
Bastian
“
I was never really scared because we were usually so high that no one could look at our balcony, or if people could look at it, then it was people I didn't think they would whistle about.
I think I just kind of blocked out the danger that comes with it. "
Bastian has read the knowledge on the Internet over the years.
Today, after months of care, it is time to harvest the buds, i.e. the flowers.
Bastian
“Today we harvest because I use a small microscope to determine when to harvest. You can see white crystals on the flowers here. The crystals are the trichomes of the plants, the trichomes are the areas in which the THC collects and the THC concentration is highest in these milky trichomes. "
Because he doesn't want to attract attention during the long procedure, Bastian first heaves the plants from the balcony into the apartment.
Bastian
»I probably smoked weed for the very first time when I was 16, and then, when I smoked more regularly, when I was 22, 23. Only when I was in my early 30s, I would say myself, yes, ok, if you’re honest, then I’m one Stoners. "
According to his own statement, Bastian always grew himself or got grass from friends.
“I've never been to the dealer. I don't know what I'm getting and if the weed has been tampered with. I would wish that legalization would bring products onto the market where I know exactly what is inside. I also go to the store and buy a beer because I know it has 4.6 percent alcohol and I don't buy the schnapps that has 32 percent. "
Even if cannabis consumption is now allowed, little will change for Bastian.
The legalization of private cultivation is not aimed at by any of the three traffic light parties, but rather at a controlled sale in licensed shops.
The fact is: The number of cannabis users is rising continuously across Europe and in all age groups, despite illegality, as addiction researcher Jakob Manthey has found.
According to experts, occasional use is largely unproblematic for most adults, and regular smoking weed is dangerous for young people in their teens.
But what would change in consumer behavior if cannabis were legalized?
Jakob Manthey, addiction researcher
“The experience from North America shows that we will very likely not have to fear an increase in the younger age groups if it is legalized. The people who tend to start over are those who are firmly rooted in life, who say: 'Okay, now it's legal, now I want to try it out within a framework in which I can trust that I actually do buy a product and consume a product that has been quality-tested and does not have to expose myself to the risks of buying it on the street. "
In the meantime, our grass has arrived from the street at the Freiburg University Hospital at Volker Auwärter.
The toxicologist analyzes drugs seized for the police and customs, including dangerous substances.
We inquire about the result via video call.
Volker Auwärter, toxicologist
“What we got out of here is that it's perfectly normal cannabis in that the main active ingredient is THC. We saw practically no cannabidiol. If there is any in there, then very little. And most importantly, there were no synthetic cannabinoids in it. This is a phenomenon that has been occurring frequently lately and in this respect it was the all-clear for this rehearsal. "
Birgit Großekathöfer, DER SPIEGEL
"Was that expected for you?"
Volker Auwärter, toxicologist
“If you look at the larger scale to see how large the proportion of this cannabis is that has been manipulated accordingly, then that should be in the order of plus minus ten percent, with regional differences of course, but of course that is a considerable proportion if every tenth sample is contaminated with harmful substances. There are now a dozen or more deaths attributable to these substances each year. And that's the crucial difference to cannabis, because THC as an active ingredient is far from being as toxic. "
Despite all the risks, the drug is well established.
The market is there and the producers are also ready.
Legalization would make consumption safer and fight the black market.
But what the experts all told us: Cannabis should not be as cheap and easy to get as alcohol, because the health risks for younger people or regular consumption are undeniable.
Nobody knows yet what the laws will look like in practice.
But legalization is likely to come.
After four years, the SPD, FDP and Greens want to evaluate the experience.
