Germany entered a new era for cannabis when the government of Lower Saxony, the country’s second-most-populous of 16 federal states, approved its first so-called “cultivation social club.”
Social Club Ganderkesee received the green light on July 8, according to Lyon, France-based Euro News.
Under Germany’s new recreational law, which was approved in February and took effect April 1, people can form cannabis cultivation clubs – nonprofit organizations where members can receive cannabis for recreational use.
The new law does not set up commercial opportunities such as in Canada, where adult use is legal nationwide, or state-regulated recreational markets in the U.S.
The clubs are limited to 500 members and subject to strict rules governing membership, location and how they operate.
There is a monthly distribution limit of 50 grams per member (roughly 1.8 ounces) or 30 grams for people younger than 21.
The German government wants cultivation and processing duties to be collectively shared among each club’s members.
Germany’s new law gives states leeway for how and what kind of regulations they want to set up for the clubs.
While Lower Saxony, in northwest Germany, was quick to approve a cultivation social club, other areas, including Bavaria – the country’s largest state – are weighing the creation of restrictions, Euro News reported.
Those states are not expected to act until fall at the earliest.
