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Cannabis legalisation hampered by most German of substances: red tape

Activists say the rollout of laws permitting recreational use of the drug has been hampered by a ‘bureaucratic monster’

The hotly disputed law passed by Olaf Scholz’s three-party coalition, which took effect in April, legalised cultivating up to three plants for private consumption, the possession of 50g (1.75oz) of cannabis at one time at home and 25g in public. A key phase began on 1 July with the establishment of registered cannabis clubs, which proponents say are vital to assuring the smooth path towards legal weed and supplanting the underworld street trade. Photograph: Steffen Roth/The ObserverSteffen Geyer, 45, head of the umbrella organisation of German Cannabis Social Clubs, said that foreign tourists who had come for Euro 2024 had been disappointed to learn that Germany had not turned overnight into the promised land for weed.

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