Cannabis users in Germany’s capital, Berlin, gathered at Brandenburg Gate on 1 April to welcome a new law decriminalizing the personal use of the drug, reports Der Tagesspiegel.
At midnight, it became legal for adults in Germany to carry up to 25 grams of cannabis and cultivate up to three marijuana plants at home. At the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, supporters celebrated the new freedoms with a so-called smoke-in. Hundreds of people gathered in front of the Berlin landmark, demonstratively lighting up joints and dancing to reggae music in an exuberant atmosphere. The number of participants was in the “lower four-digit range”, as a police spokesperson told the Tagesspiegel. According to the police, the situation remained “very calm”.
A metre-high cannabis leaf adorned the scene in front of the Berlin landmark, and a number of lighters lit up just in time for midnight. Shortly afterwards, a strong smell of cannabis wafted across the square. “We can finally show ourselves, we no longer have to hide,” Henry Plottke, a member of the German Hemp Association (DHV), told the German Press Agency before the action began.
The gathering was organised by the Berlin division of the DHV and was registered with the police. Plottke said that they wanted to celebrate their “newfound freedom” by smoking weed together. For him, being able to legally smoke a joint in front of the Brandenburg Gate was a key event. As a consumer, he feels “a lot of relief” that he is no longer considered a criminal. He is also glad that legalisation will also ease the relationship with the police.
The law, which has met with some criticism due to concerns about the health of German youth, makes Germany one of the most liberal countries in Europe in regard to cannabis use. However, Germany is not the first European country to relax cannabis regulation. According to Deutsche Welle, the use of small quantities of cannabis has long been decriminalized in Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, the Czech Republic, Belgium, and the Netherlands, although certain rules remain in place there too.