Smoking cannabis is now legal in Germany

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At midnight, people gathered at Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate for a “smoke-in” to welcome the new rules, which were introduced after a heated debate about the pros and cons of allowing easier access to the drug.

“From our point of view, the law as it is written is a disaster,” Katja Seidel, a therapist at a drug addiction centre in Berlin, the Tannenhof Berlin-Brandenburg, told Agence France-Presse (AFP).

“Access to the product will be easier, its image will change and become more normalised, especially among young people,” Seidel said, adding that she expected to see an increase in cannabis use “at least initially”.

The new legislation also has some safeguards to protect young people, including a ban on smoking cannabis within 100 metres (328ft) of a school, kindergarten, playground or sports centre.

“From 1 April, our colleagues will find themselves in situations of conflict with citizens, as uncertainty reigns on both sides,” said the German police union’s deputy federal chairman, Alexander Poitz, Deutsche Welle reported.

The government has said previously that many users rely on the drug for medicinal reasons and that the new law will improve the quality of cannabis consumed by growing numbers of young people.

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