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Posted on 31st July 2024 |
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Since March 2024, Cannabis has technically been legal, but not much has changed. It is now legal to posses pot, up to a limit (25 grams on one's person and 50 grams at home). It is also legal to smoke it in public, as long as one is not close to a school, playground or other place with children. Many people thought that the change in German law would usher in a system like in the Netherlands, where there are Coffee Shops selling pot in every city, or many states in the USA, where there are dispensaries selling all manner of Cannabis products, but that is not how things now work in Germany. CBD products (CBD oil and CBD cannabis), which are useful for dealing with pain, calming nerves and helping with sleep, have actually been fully legal for longer than that, as long as the THC content is no more than 0.2%. CBD will not get you high, and no-one takes CBD for pleasure. You can easily buy CBD products in shops or online. For pain control, however, THC is more effective than CBD. Cannabis containing THC is another matter. It remains illegal to buy or sell cannabis with more than 0.2% THC. THC is illegal for people under 18, and people aged 18 to 21 are limited to cannabis of up to 20% THC content. The only way to get pot containing THC in Germany is to grow it, either at home, or in shared grow-facilities at cannabis clubs. Excess product cannot be sold, but may be given away to other members of the same club. Clubs are limited to 500 members, and must be registered with the government. The total harvest of a club is limited, and excess harvest must be destroyed. The new law made it legal to grow cannabis from the 1st July 2024, but so far not a single grow-licence has been issued (clubs need to be licensed, individuals do not), although virtually all applied for one as soon as it was possible. Germany is notorious for having slow and inefficient bureaucracies, so I don't expect grow-licences to issued any time soon. One of the government's justifications for legalisation is to stamp out the illegal drug trade, but since no-one can get cannabis (with THC) legally anywhere in Germany, and won't be able to any time soon, the illegal pot trade is still thriving. You can easily and legally buy cannabis seeds, including strains with high THC content, but they take at least 3 months to mature. | |