Berlin Set to Relax Cannabis Laws

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Puffin13
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Berlin Set to Relax Cannabis Laws

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Berlin Set to Relax Cannabis Laws
05/18/2010

It could soon be legal to posses up to 15 grams of cannabis in Berlin -- a street value of more than €120.

A new marijuana policy could make it legal for individuals to posses up to 15 grams (0.5 ounces) of the drug in the German capital. The regulation would make Berlin among the most cannabis-friendly in Europe.

Berliners have long enjoyed their city's soft stance on marijuana. It's not uncommon to see someone taking a deep drag on a joint in a city park or rolling one in the back of a café.

Now, though, the German capital may take a further step toward becoming one of the most weed-tolerant in Europe. The city-state's top health official told SPIEGEL that she plans to raise the amount of marijuana and hashish one can possess to 15 grams (0.5 ounces).

German federal law prohibits the possession of marijuana beyond a "small amount" but leaves it up to the states to determine exactly what that amount should be. Most states, including Brandenburg, which surrounds Berlin, define a "small amount" as 6 grams. Until now, Berlin has allowed the possession of 10 grams.

With the regulation set to expire, Katrin Lompscher, the city's top health administrator, is soon to sign a new regulation increasing the amount. She says the success of the 10-gram rule warrants an increase, though her office, despite repeated requests, have declined to characterize that success.

Not everyone in Berlin is pleased with the plan. Lompscher's far-left Left Party is the junior coalition partner in the Berlin city-state, paired with the center-left Social Democrats (SPD). The Left Party has long advocated a legalization of cannabis, but Stephanie Winde, a spokeswoman for the Berlin SPD, told SPIEGEL ONLINE that the Left Party hadn't discussed the 15-gram policy before going public. The SPD, she says, would prefer to be part of a joint decision on cannabis policy.

Easier for Dealers?


If Lompsher's new measure goes into law, it would also seemingly stand in contradiction to stepped-up efforts to combat drug-dealing in Berlin over the past year. In once instance, dozens of police officers, supported by a helicopter, combed Hasenheide, a 50-hectare (125-acre) park in central Berlin, for 13 hours in search of dealers. Other parks have likewise been targeted.

Some have wondered aloud whether Lompsher's proposal will just make it easier for drug dealers to carry their goods and be covered by the law. "Dealers will exploit the liberal regulation and carry no more than the legal amount," the Berliner Zeitung newspaper wrote in a recent editorial.

A European Leader

If the proposed measure goes into effect, Berlin's marijuana laws would be among the most liberal in Europe. In the Netherlands, individuals are allowed to possess just 5 grams for personal use without fearing prosecution. In Belgium, it is 3 grams. The Czech Republic recently passed the most liberal drug laws in Europe, allowing individuals to grow up to five cannabis plants or be in possession of as many as 20 marijuana "cigarettes."

Source


Cannabis is The Tree of Life
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sh@dy
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Post by sh@dy »

sounds nice :)
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bleak
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Post by bleak »

good news 8)
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Bilbo Baggins
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Post by Bilbo Baggins »

Everytime I hear news like this I become more '' Pro--Europe ''
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Ingwey Gooblebogger
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Post by Ingwey Gooblebogger »

Unfortunately, the article is wrong re: the amount allowed in the Netherlands.

In the Netherlands the permitted amount to have in one's possesion, with no leal penalty, is 30 grams. It is COFFEESHOPS which can only sell 5 grams to any one person.

However, this is good news for Berliners!
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Snupo
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Post by Snupo »

Almost every country is going in a weed tolerancy direction.
Only Italy is always going in opposite direction.
Im trading a fascist govern, a prime dwarf minister, an old weird guy dressed like Saruman and living in vatican for a Volcano even used.
If interested, pm me
I'm in Amsterdam: 17/08 - 24(?)/08 2010
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Pauli Wallnuts
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Post by Pauli Wallnuts »

Snupo wrote:Only Italy is always going in opposite direction
&the uk, thanks to 90%of the population who are sheep who follow rupert murdoch & the other red tops
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yXbNLkNh ... re=related" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
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Ghost
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Post by Ghost »

Pauli Wallnuts wrote:
Snupo wrote:Only Italy is always going in opposite direction
&the uk, thanks to 90%of the population who are sheep who follow rupert murdoch & the other red tops
Here,Here, and well said that man
Chase the Green to live the Dream :mrgreen: 8) :D
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Ash333
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Post by Ash333 »

Can anyone tell me any good spots to pick up in Berlin?

or are any posters on here based in Berlin?
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mrdcotor
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Post by mrdcotor »

Ash333 wrote:Can anyone tell me any good spots to pick up in Berlin?

or are any posters on here based in Berlin?
http://www.webehigh.com/city/detail.php?CITYID=Berlin

Berlin, I'm coming (again)!
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