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KEY POINTS: What to know about Germany’s partial legalisation of cannabis

Cannabis is now partially freed for consumption in Germany. Why is this such a landmark legal reform, and what new rules and restrictions are in place?

Published: 28 March 2024 15:02 CET
Updated: 1 April 2024 08:14 CEST
KEY POINTS: What to know about Germany’s partial legalisation of cannabis
A man smokes cannabis in Berlin. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Sebastian Gollnow

Why is this a historic moment?

The law decriminalises cannabis and legally recognises it as a non-narcotic. Germany becomes the third European country, after Malta and Luxembourg, to legalise adult recreational use. And the law makes it one of the most liberal among developed economies. 

READ ALSO: Germany gives green light to partially legalise cannabis from April

Only Canada, whose law allows individuals to buy from licensed retailers and carry up to 30 grams of cannabis, is more permissive.  

The cannabis law also lowers the barrier for doctors to prescribe medical marijuana to patients. It will now be considered a normal prescription instead of a narcotic. Previously patients needed to have a chronic illness or be seriously ill to get a prescription. 

What is the timeline for legalisation?

Beginning April 1st, adults are allowed to carry up to 25 grams of cannabis for recreational use. They can also keep up to 50 grams of marijuana at home and grow up to three plants for personal use. Note that is three plants per person, not per household. 

On July 1st, adults can begin joining “cannabis social clubs” where they can receive monthly allotments of marijuana. And in the future, the bill lays out a plan to test out municipal five-year pilot programs for state-controlled cannabis to be sold in licensed shops. 

Can cannabis be purchased in Germany after April 1st?

There is no way to buy cannabis directly, as it won’t be available for general purchase in a store. Instead, you can grow the plant yourself or join a cannabis club this summer. The cannabis clubs can begin growing cannabis on July 1st. 

What will cannabis clubs do?

Cannabis clubs can have up to 500 members. Clubs can give members 25 grams of cannabis per day and up to 50 grams of the plant per month. For members under 22 years old, clubs can allot up to 30 grams of cannabis per month. 

For cultivation club members between 18 and 21-year-olds the level of THC -the substance in cannabis that gives you the “high” – will be limited to help minimise the impact of marijuana use on developing brains. 

Cannabis in Dresden

Martin Reuter, head of the Sanaleo shop for CBD products in Dresden’s Neustadt, holds a cannabis flower for sale in his hands. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Robert Michael

Clubs cannot sell weed to their members, but they are allowed to charge membership fees. Under the law, all excess production must be destroyed. 

Cannabis social clubs can set their own requirements for membership so long as the minimum age of membership is 18 and members can prove German residency. The law also gives states the ability to limit the number of clubs according to population density. 

Can you consume cannabis in public?

Yes, but there are some parameters. You cannot consume weed within 100 metres of schools, sports facilities or around minors. You can also only smoke cannabis in public between the hours of 8pm and 7am. 

How does the public feel about the law?

Germans remain divided on the new legislation with 47 percent in favour of the plans and 42 percent against the legalisation, according to a YouGov poll published on Friday, March 22nd.

The law was also met with sharp criticism from doctors, legal professionals and representatives from some of the nation’s 16 federal states. The conservative CDU and CSU parties expressed consistent opposition to the bill on the Bundestag floor. 

READ ALSO: Why is Germany’s cannabis draft law so controversial?

What happens if you break the rules?

Minors who are caught consuming cannabis will be required to take part in prevention programmes. It is unclear what rules will apply to cannabis in road traffic, shipping and air traffic because it is still under review by expert committees.  

Member comments

  1. It’s ludicrous that people can drive after taking THC and their consumption level can’t be checked at the roadside by the police.

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CRIME

German far-right politician fined €13,000 for using Nazi slogan

A German court has convicted one of the country's most controversial far-right politicians, Björn Höcke, of deliberately using a banned Nazi slogan at a rally.

Published: 15 May 2024 08:43 CEST
German far-right politician fined €13,000 for using Nazi slogan

The court fined Höcke, 52, of the far-right AfD party, €13,000 for using the phrase “Alles fuer Deutschland” (“Everything for Germany”) during a 2021 campaign rally.

Once a motto of the so-called Sturmabteilung paramilitary group that played a key role in Adolf Hitler’s rise to power, the phrase is illegal in modern-day Germany, along with the Nazi salute and other slogans and symbols from that era.

The former high school history teacher claimed not to have been aware that the phrase had been used by the Nazis, telling the court he was “completely not guilty”.

Höcke said he thought the phrase was an “everyday saying”.

But prosecutors argued that Höcke used the phrase in full knowledge of its “origin and meaning”.

They had sought a six-month suspended sentence plus two years’ probation, and a payment of €10,000 to a charitable organisation.

Writing on X, formerly Twitter, after the trial, Höcke said the “ability to dissent is in jeopardy”.

“If this verdict stands, free speech will be dead in Germany,” he added.

Höcke, the leader of the AfD in Thuringia, is gunning to become Germany’s first far-right state premier when the state holds regional elections in September.

With the court ordering only a fine rather than a jail term, the verdict is not thought to threaten his candidacy at the elections.

‘AfD scandals’

The trial is one of several controversies the AfD is battling ahead of European Parliament elections in June and regional elections in the autumn in Thuringia, Brandenburg and Saxony.

Founded in 2013, the anti-Islam and anti-immigration AfD saw a surge in popularity last year – its 10th anniversary – seizing on concerns over rising migration, high inflation and a stumbling economy.

But its support has wavered since the start of 2024, as it contends with scandals including allegations that senior party members were paid to spread pro-Russian views on a Moscow-financed news website.

Considered an extremist by German intelligence services, Höcke is one of the AfD’s most controversial personalities.

He has called Berlin’s Holocaust monument a “memorial of shame” and urged a “180-degree shift” in the country’s culture of remembrance.

Höcke was convicted of using the banned slogan at an election rally in Merseburg in the state of Saxony-Anhalt in the run-up to Germany’s 2021 federal election.

READ ALSO: How worried should Germany be about the far-right AfD after mass deportation scandal?

He had also been due to stand trial on a second charge of shouting “Everything for…” and inciting the audience to reply “Germany” at an AfD meeting in Thuringia in December.

However, the court decided to separate the proceedings for the second charge, announced earlier this month, because the defence had not had enough time to prepare.

Prosecutor Benedikt Bernzen on Friday underlined the reach of Höcke’s statement, saying that a video of it had been clicked on 21,000 times on the Facebook page of AfD Sachsen-Anhalt alone.

Höcke’s defence lawyer Philip Müller argued the rally was an “insignificant campaign event” and that the offending statement was only brought to the public’s notice by the trial.

Germany’s domestic security agency has labelled the AfD in Thuringia a “confirmed” extremist organisation, along with the party’s regional branches in Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt.

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