All going to pot
New Zealand Listener|April 27-May 3, 2024
What would happen when Germany legalised cannabis?
Cathrin Schaer
All going to pot

Maybe clouds of sweetsmelling marijuana smoke would clog up the bars and streets? Maybe dazed and confused stoners would spend their days listening to bad reggae, shops would sell out of snacks known to sate the "munchies" and those sketchy-looking fellows in the park, the guys who'll sell you a bag of weed for €10 behind a bush, would have to find new work? 

Nobody really knew, but we were about to find out. On April 1, cannabis was declared legal for consenting adults, making Germany only the third European Union country to fully legalise cannabis.

At a minute past midnight, hundreds of Berlin cannabis fans celebrated by sparking one up under the Brandenburg Gate. In Bavaria, about 40 gathered outside the offices of the conservative, antimarijuana Christian Social Union party to smoke a vengeful joint.

This story is from the April 27-May 3, 2024 edition of New Zealand Listener.

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This story is from the April 27-May 3, 2024 edition of New Zealand Listener.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.

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