Cannabis enthusiasts across Germany took to the streets at midnight early Monday morning to smoke joints and celebrate as the European nation’s legalization of cannabis took effect on April 1. German lawmakers gave final approval to a recreational weed legalization plan known as CanG late last month, making the country the largest in Europe to take the step.

In the German capital of Berlin, weed enthusiasts gathered at the iconic Brandenberg Gate to smoke weed and celebrate their new freedoms. Other events were held throughout Europe’s most populous country, including one in front of the Cologne cathedral and others in the cities of Hamburg, Regensburg and Dortmund.

“We can finally show ourselves, we don’t have to hide anymore,” Henry Plottke, a member of the German Hemp Association (DHV), told the news agency DPA at the celebration in Berlin.

The legalization of cannabis in Germany was supported by the three-party ruling coalition led by Social Democrat Chancellor Olaf Scholz. Health Minister Karl Lauterbach extolled the virtues of the beginning of cannabis legalization in a social media post.

“Cannabis use already existed yesterday, but it’s increasing. Now it’s exiting the taboo zone,” he wrote on X on Monday, according to a translation from CNN. “This is better for real addiction help, prevention for children and young people and for combating the black market, for which there will soon be an alternative.”

Weed Is Legal for Adults 18 and Up

Under Germany’s CanG legalization plan, adults aged 18 and up are permitted to possess up to 25 grams of weed and public and up to 50 grams at home. The new law also allows adults to grow cannabis at home, with a cap of three plants. Public consumption of weed including smoking is also allowed, although there are restrictions on using cannabis near children and sports venues.

Beginning on July 1, adults will be allowed to join cannabis clubs, which will each provide access to weed for up to 500 members. For-profit commercial cannabis ventures are not permitted by the plan. Niklas Kouparanis, co-founder and CEO of Germany-based medical cannabis company Bloomwell Group, said that the cannabis club model could eventually lead to broader legalization of adult-use cannabis. 

“The provision allowing for cannabis clubs is an important step towards the de-stigmatization of cannabis use, as adult consumers will no longer be criminalized for simply smoking or ingesting the plant,” Kouparanis said in a statement to High Times. “Of course, our ultimate goal in Germany remains to legalize the entire value chain for a full-fledged adult-use market, going beyond the nonprofit, members-only cannabis clubs and creating a commercial market that can be accessed by all adult consumers.”

Opposition Vows To Repeal Legalization

Although legalizing cannabis was approved by both chambers of Germany’s bicameral parliament, the plan does not have universal support. After the plan was adopted, the conservative opposition vowed to repeal the CanG legislation if they can form a coalition government after next year’s national elections.

“In our view, drugs policy, particularly with respect to protecting young people, is an issue of such central significance that we will revoke the legalization of cannabis in the event we take power,” lawmaker Thorsten Frei told the Augsburger Allgemeine newspaper, Yahoo News reported on Saturday.

“In any possible coalition talks, [the rolling back of the legislation] will be a firm standpoint for us,” added Frei, the parliamentary leader of the alliance of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and its Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union (CSU).

The legalization of weed in Germany is also opposed by groups representing police officers, who fear the new legislation will be difficult to enforce. The law includes public consumption exclusion zones and exemptions, which could result in disagreements about where people can freely use cannabis.

“From April 1, our colleagues will find themselves in situations of conflict with citizens, as uncertainty reigns on both sides,” said Alexander Poitz, vice president of the GdP police union, according to a report from the Daily Mail.

The CanG plan also includes provisions to review past cannabis convictions, a process that opponents say will overwhelm the courts. Justice Minister Marco Buschmann, however, said it would mean less work for the judiciary and police in the long run.

“The changeover will mean a one-off increase in workload, but in the long term the police and judiciary will be relieved,” Buschmann told the Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland media group on Monday. “They will then be able to focus on even more relevant crime.”

Neighboring Austria Not On Board

While German weed enthusiasts celebrated cannabis legalization, neighboring countries have taken notice. In Austria, officials said they have no plans to follow Germany’s lead on cannabis policy reform and would implement measures to deter trans-border trade.

“The police will conduct intensified checks, particularly in areas near the border, to take addictive substances and drivers under the influence of drugs out of circulation,” Interior Minister Gerhard Karner said in a statement. “This is about the protection of all road users.”

The Interior Ministry added that plainclothes police officers and specialists trained to recognize signs of impairment would be deployed to the border in an effort to thwart smuggling attempts.

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In New York, you can roll up on the train, and smoke while walking down the street. But you should still follow these best practices while enjoying your bud in The Big Apple.

The post NYC cannabis etiquette: Can I roll up weed on the subway? appeared first on Leafly.

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Governor Kathy Hochul enacted the ban on virtually all cannabis and tobacco consumption in public parks and beaches in New York.

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‘Tis the season to get to the great outdoors, but not all campsites are cannabis friendly in Canada. Here’s what you need to know.

The post Camping with weed? 4 things you need to know appeared first on Leafly.

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Oaxaca’s capital city just legalized the public consumption of cannabis. Will other Mexican cities follow?

The post In Mexico, this city ordered its cops to let everyone smoke weed—and not just on 4/20 appeared first on Leafly.

The post In Mexico, this city ordered its cops to let everyone smoke weed—and not just on 4/20 appeared first on Paradise Found.

Meghan Markle might want to trademark the word “archetype” for her own enrichment, but it just goes to show how universal some fights actually are. Not to mention how unoriginal the continual threats to one of the most enduring if not endearing symbols of Amsterdam continue to be.

The latest salvo against the city’s coffeeshops comes (yet again) from the city’s mayor, Femke Halsema, who has just unveiled her latest plan to ban tourists from the city’s cannabis cafes, and further with a well-worn excuse. Namely, to “get a grip” on the local soft drugs market, and the outdated rant that cannabis is a gateway drug to other, harder drugs.

It is a broken record—but sadly, one she insists on pursuing to the bitter end.

Here is her reasoning: According to some city officials at least, “only” 66 of the current 166 licensed shops are “needed” to meet local demand—meaning that she really wants to close down 100 (or about 2/3) of them. Further, according to Halsema, banning cannatourists in Amsterdam is the “best way” to manage the country’s pending cannabis cultivation trial (which of course excludes coffee shops in Amsterdam and other large Dutch cities)—rather than trying to integrate them into it—which is also inevitable.

However, the move is hardly surprising. Amsterdam’s officials have long tried to shut down the cannatrade against evidence that this unique aspect of Holland’s culture has not only become an enduring international symbol of the cannabis industry and reform but are beginning to be widely copied everywhere prohibition is finally receding. Apparently, these officials do not think that the attraction, which draws about 58% of tourists to the city, is one they want to continue to associate with Amsterdam. About 3 million tourists visit the city annually, specifically to partake in this unique experience.

Of course, both the industry and evidence say otherwise. Indeed, in smaller towns in Holland where coffeeshops are limited to local residents, there has been a resurgence in street dealing.

Beyond this, both of the largest parties represented on the city council, D66 and Groenlinks are opposed to the initiative, which was announced after the March local elections.

Regardless, Halsema does not need to rely on majority support if she declares the situation to be a “necessity.” She has also been on this particular bandwagon for at least the last two years.

So much for democracy, not to mention governing for and with the will of the people.

Amsterdam Prohibition Rears its Head as Progress Threatens the Status Quo

This is not the first attempt to limit the coffeeshop trade or even ban tourists from the same, much less from Halsema who has been trying to achieve this goal for the last couple of years. She has also used various excuses that more or less sound the same—including using the COVID pandemic to temporarily shut down all of shops—although also being forced to allow takeout service as the lockdown endured for the last several years.

Part of the problem, no matter how popular such destinations are with foreign visitors—particularly British and Germans—is that tourism constitutes only about 10% of the overall economy of the city. According to Halsema, “Amsterdam is in a lucky position where it could really use the pandemic to try some new things.”

Apparently, integrating the city’s coffeeshops into the national cultivation trial is not one of those ideas. Indeed, it is only being used as another excuse to shut down said establishments.

Why Now?

As much as this effort is clearly timed for publicity, it is yet another sign of how tone-deaf, if not enduringly anti-cannabis, elected officials can be to the advances of the industry, if not deliberately ignorant about the drug and the impact of its usage. 

There is zero evidence that cannabis use leads to harder drugs. Indeed there is more and more data proving that in fact it is a gateway off of them—starting with opioids.

Beyond this, of course, it is also clear in any jurisdiction which has proceeded with at least a semi-legitimized cannabis trade that banning parts of it do not stop demand—but rather drive it further into the black market.

That said, such regressive statements, attitudes, and outdated campaigns, are here to stay for some time in Europe as multiple countries wrestle now with how to integrate cannabis into the mainstream. See Germany, right next door, where the new national government, which used recreational cannabis reform as an election plank, has clearly pushed such a move to the backburner in the face of more compelling priorities.

The jury of course, is still out on whether the mayor and the “Dark Side” will win this salvo. No matter what Halsema and others of her ilk may want, or even wish to impose, it is unlikely that tourists will be effectively banned from such establishments—starting with the fact that in Barcelona, this has also proved to be impossible. 

It is also unlikely that Halsema will win in the long term. Some coffeeshops may close. However, those that survive, just as those which endured the previous purges, will only emerge stronger and more popular than before.

And that is an archetype that even Jung would approve of.

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Ontario has launched consultations for cannabis consumption spaces and special occasion permits.

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