One of the most liberal laws in Europe regarding the consumption of cannabis has just come into force in Germany. After Malta in 2021 and Luxembourg last year, Germany legalized the recreational use of cannabis.
Since Monday, April 1, the legislation allows adults over 18 years of age to be in possession of 25 g of dried cannabis in public places, as well as to cultivate up to three cannabis plants at home and not possess more of 50 g.
It is also forbidden to share your harvest with other people, and it must be stored in a secure, locked place out of the reach of children. Consumption will be prohibited within 100 m of a school or playground, as well as between 7 a.m. and 8 p.m. in pedestrian areas.
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A law that will not allow French people to possess or buy cannabis in Germany, unless they live there. Unlike Amsterdam, where anyone of legal age can buy cannabis sold in coffee shops, German legislation is only aimed at people who have been domiciled in Germany for more than six months.
Zero tolerance for tourists and students
Concretely, to legally buy drugs across the Rhine, you will have to wait three more months and the establishment of “Cannabis Social Club”, these non-profit associations which will be able to sell a maximum of 25 g per day and 50 g per day. months to their members. Only adults who have resided in Germany for more than six months will be able to join an association, the number of members of which is limited to 500.
French border residents who thought they could go to Germany to buy and consume cannabis legally will therefore be disappointed. “The text of the law is firm. French people from the border region and those going to Germany to study or go tourism will not be able to possess, cultivate or consume them,” specifies the European Consumer Center in a press release.
The press release adds that French people controlled with cannabis will be “heavily sanctioned”. “They will face up to five years of imprisonment for illicit possession of narcotics or at least two years of imprisonment for illegal importation of narcotics,” we can read.
Following the entry into force of this new legislation in Germany, the mayor of Strasbourg Jeanne Barseghian (EELV) called for the establishment of a local "experiment" within the border city, in order to escape from a repressive French approach with “inconclusive” results.