Is marijuana legal in Gemany?

By Nicolas Bouliane

This guide explains the current laws about cannabis in Germany.

Yes, recreational marijuana is legal since April 1. There are many restrictions:15

Who can smoke:

  • You must be at least 18 years old to have or grow cannabis.5

What you can possess:

  • You can have up to 25 grams on you, and 50 grams at home.12
  • You can grow up to 3 plants at home. 3 plants per person, not per household. You can’t sell the cannabis that you grow.6
  • You can’t give the cannabis you grow to other people, not even for free.10

Where you can smoke:

  • You can’t smoke around people who are under 18 years old.7
  • You can’t smoke in pedestrian zones between 7:00 and 20:00.9
  • You can’t smoke within sight of schools, kindergartens, playgrounds, sports facilities and cannabis clubs.9 You can smoke if you are out of sight of the entrances, or more than 100 metres away.

There is currently no way to buy weed. There are no cannabis stores. You must grow it yourself or join a cannabis club.

Things can still change. Cannabis just became legal. Some laws are still unclear.

Cannabis clubs

You can’t buy weed from a store. To buy weed, you must join a cannabis club.

Rules for cannabis clubs:16

  • You must become a member of a cannabis club to get cannabis.
  • You can only be a member of 1 cannabis club.24
  • Clubs are non-profit organisations, and need permission to operate.
  • Clubs can have up to 500 members.23
  • Clubs can give members 25 grams of cannabis per day, or 50 grams per month.19
  • Clubs can give members under 22 years old 30 grams of cannabis per month.20
  • You can’t share the weed from cannabis clubs with other people.21
  • Clubs can only sell cannabis flowers, not cannabis products.18
  • Clubs can’t ship or deliver cannabis.22
  • Clubs can’t advertise or sponsor.11

To join a club, you must…17

  • Be at least 18 years old
  • Be a resident for at least 6 months25

At the moment, it takes a really long time to create a cannabis club.28 It could take a few months before you can get weed from a club.

Yes. Medical marijuana is legal. It is rarely prescribed. Only a few hundred people have a prescription.1 With legalisation, it became easier to prescribe.8

How to get a cannabis prescription

It depends. Cannabis flowers are legal, but processed cannabis is illegal.

Before legalisation, processed CBD products with less than 0.2% THC were legal.2 CBD oil with less than 0.2% THC was legal.3 It should still be the case. The rules after legalisation are not clear yet.

You can find CBD flowers in some Spätis and head shops.4

Yes. Cannabis seeds are legal. You can also buy seeds from other EU countries.14

Yes. As of May 2024, Hexahydrocannabinol (HHC) is legal. The government could ban it in the future.26 HHC is synthetic cannabis. It might not feel the same as natural cannabis.

You can find HHC edibles, cartridges and flowers online, in some Spätis and in some head shops.27

Can I bring weed from another country?

No. For example, you can’t buy weed in the Netherlands, and bring it to Germany. They sometimes check buses, trains and cars that come from the Netherlands.13 They sometimes use dogs to detect drugs.

This might have changed with legalisation, but it’s not confirmed.

Where can I buy weed in Berlin?

Where to buy weed in Berlin

Sources and footnotes

  1. hanfsamenladen.com ⤴

  2. soll-galabau.de, §2 Abs. 2 KCanG ⤴

  3. soll-galabau.de ⤴

  4. soll-galabau.de ⤴

  5. §2 Abs. 3 KCanG, §9 Abs. 1 KCanG ⤴

  6. §2 Abs. 4 KCanG, §3 Abs. 2 KCanG, §9 KCanG ⤴

  7. §5 Abs. 1 KCanG ⤴

  8. Reddit (April 2024) ⤴

  9. §5 Abs. 2 KCanG ⤴

  10. §9 Abs. 2 KCanG ⤴

  11. §6 KCanG ⤴

  12. §3 Abs. 1 and 2 KCanG ⤴

  13. Quora ⤴

  14. §4 Abs. 1 KCanG ⤴

  15. Deutsche Welle, Zeit ⤴

  16. Zeit ⤴

  17. KCanG ⤴

  18. §19 KCanG ⤴

  19. §19 Abs. 3 KCanG ⤴

  20. §19 Abs. 2 KCanG ⤴

  21. §19 Abs. 4 KCanG ⤴

  22. §19 Abs. 4 KCanG ⤴

  23. §16 Abs. 2 KCanG ⤴

  24. §16 Abs. 2 KCanG ⤴

  25. §16 Abs. 4 KCanG ⤴

  26. mdr.de (February 2024), natur-breit.de (January 2024), bfarm.de ⤴

  27. Reddit, 1, 2 (2024) ⤴

  28. businessofcannabis.com, osthessen-zeitung.de (October 2024) ⤴