Christmas has passed and we are entering the truly dark days of winter between Weihnachten and Silvester, waiting for the weather to finally warm again in …. May? I was on a call with a new colleague from Turkey and she visibly blanched at the news that we have months of this cold and dark environment ahead of us. 

However, there are bright spots to look forward to. Berlinale is planned to be back as an in person event in February. Snow has already made an appearance this year offering the chance of sledding fun. I am home in Washington State and was able to enjoy a very rare white Christmas. 

Possibly more exciting than any of this is that I might be able to indulge in a delightful, formerly illegal, drug in Germany sometime soon. Marijuana is slated to be legal in Germany some time this year.

PHOTO: Marijuana in Germany by kat_geb, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

As a Seattlite turned Berlinerin, I have lit a joint or two. Whenever I visit my home state, it doesn’t take long til we are at the dispensary picking up a small bag of edibles. It is still a wonder at how easy it is to buy, how accurate the budtenders prescriptions are, and how much fun it is to partake. A gummi can really take the edge off being home for the holidays. 

Of course there is the added bonus to the government that it is a massive money-maker. Marijuana has been legalized in Washington State since 2012 and has collected a total of $473.9 million in legal marijuana income and license fees just in 2020, including $4.8 million in cannabis license fees. The Netherlands – long associated with weed consumption and tourism – might be overshadowed by full legalization in Germany, driving more funds to its neighbor (Luxembourg is also racing to pass similar legislation). A study by Heinrich Heine University found that legalizing cannabis could increase tax revenues for Germany by nearly $4 billion and create around 27,000 new jobs. That is a decent side hustle.

Europe is generally more lenient on drug use, so it is surprising that nowhere in the EU has legalized marijuana. Correction – nowhere had until now. Beating the rest of the continent to the punch, Malta signed legal marijuana into law this month – the first European country to enact the reform. In the world, Canada and Uruguay have already legalized recreational cannabis but Europe has been slower to adapt.  

Germany is not far behind as the new Ampelkoalition (traffic light) coalition of Social Democrats (SPD), the Greens and the Free Democrats (FDP) are poised to roll in a bunch of progressive measures. Among the most exciting are raising the minimum wage to €12 from €9.60, adding more affordable housing, lowering the voting age to 16, easing restrictions on abortion, accelerated exit from coal energy, allowing for dual citizenship – and yes – legalizing recreational use of cannabis.  

Laws Surrounding Weed in Germany

Currently, the Betäubungsmittelgesetz (German narcotics law) merely states that authorities are not required to prosecute for the possession of a “minor amount” of narcotic drugs meant for personal consumption. This usually means anything under 6 grams, although Berlin allows for up to 15 grams, is ignored. In cases of public interest such as consumption in public, in front of minors or within a public school or a state prison are more frequently prosecuted. Also important to note is that under German law the consumption of narcotics is not illegal.

Berlin’s relaxed attitude toward drugs can easily be identified by the distinct smell of marijuana wafting throughout the city. Hotspots for drug exchange like Görlitzer Park and the area around RAW-Gelände are places to find drugs for those without a hook-up and largely ignored by the police. Events like the Hanfparade (Hemp Parade) are held annually outside of Covid-times, another example of the drug’s acceptance. But the change over to full legality will offer even greater freedoms and safety.

The promised legislation will allow adults 18 and older to possess up to seven grams of cannabis. Over that amount (up to 28 grams) only has minimal punishments of a €50 to €100 fine without any threat of jail time or a criminal record. People can also cultivate as many as four plants for personal use and up to 50 grams of homegrown marijuana can be stored at home. Even minors found in possession will be given more rehabilitative treatment, rather than punitive.

A commercial market is not expected, but non-profit cooperatives are planning on cultivating marijuana and distributing it to as many as 500 members. Along with offering up to seven grams per day to each member (maximum of 50 grams per month), clubs can provide up to 20 cannabis seeds per member each month.

The political parties pushing for this adjustment believe legalization will help protect consumers with purer product, de-stigmatize drug use so those that need help will be more likely to seek it, and official cannabis shops would lower the sell of drugs to minors. Part of the money saved from policing would be reinvested in addiction therapy resources.

To me, this is all good news. Germany isn’t quite the progressive nation it believes itself to be, but it is trying. This is maybe the least important of the new measures the latest political coalition is working on, but perhaps for that reason it will be one of the first to pass. And that looks like progress.