FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Marijuana campaigners in Germany lit celebratory joints on Monday as the country legalized possession of small amounts of cannabis for recreational use over objections from doctors and police. The German Cannabis Association, which campaigned for the new law, staged a “smoke-in” at Berlin’s landmark Brandenburg Gate when the law took effect at midnight. Other public consumption events were scheduled throughout the country, including one in front of the Cologne cathedral and others in Hamburg, Regensburg and Dortmund.
Germany becomes the third European Union country to legalize cannabis for personal use after Malta and Luxembourg. The government argued that legalization would undermine criminal trade in the drug, guard against harmful impurities, and free police to pursue more serious crimes while providing for protections against use by under-18s.
The new law legalizes possession by adults of up to 25 grams (nearly 1 ounce) of marijuana for recreational purposes and allows individuals to grow up to three plants on their own. Use is prohibited within 100 meters (109 yards) of the entrance to a playground or school. That part of the legislation took effect Monday.
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