Smoking weed is now legal in Germany. The Rosenheim Green MP Karl Bär invited people to “smoke weed” on this occasion – a new experience for him too.
Rosenheim/Munich – Is he allowed to do that? In Rosenheim there is trouble over a member of the Bundestag who is inviting people to “dive in” in public, a kind of equivalent to tapping. Karl Bär (39, Green Party) is planning an information event for Tuesday evening and then shared cannabis consumption in a Rosenheim park. When asked, the police said they would monitor that “especially in this case, the standards of the new legislation on the consumption of cannabis are being adhered to”. The Rosenheim CSU representative Daniela Ludwig, former federal drug commissioner, sharply criticizes Bär's event and the entire legalization law: "Smoking weed with zero protection of minors and maximum control effort - what is there to celebrate," she says. Ludwig sent his colleague a two-page protest letter that summarized arguments from critics and practitioners. We spoke to the Oberbayern Bär about his controversial kick-off event.
Green MP Karl Bär in an interview
They invite you to “get stoned” today. How did that come about?
I'm planning a small event in Rosenheim where I'll talk briefly about the new law, about possibilities and limits. If you want, you can come to the park afterwards and smoke a joint. It's legal now.
How much do you have with you for your own use?
I've never smoked weed and don't find it that interesting myself. But it is important to me that we talk publicly about the cannabis law and that the topic is not left in some dirty corner.
The legal situation is somewhat complex. You can smoke weed, but you can't give it away. So you are not allowed to host a round as the organizer.
Exactly. Currently, it is the only legal way to smoke home-grown cannabis.
The new law is long and difficult to keep track of. Critics say: not fully developed. Why did the legislative process have to move so quickly?
Overall, I think this makes sense. We negotiated the law in the Bundestag for a relatively long time. This has made it more complex. I think some of it is very good: that legalization cannot be used commercially, for example, that no large suppliers from the USA or Canada flood the market, but that cultivation is regulated in clubs. Protection of minors is just as important. It is now regulated that smoking weed is not allowed with minors and not in the vicinity of schools and sports facilities.
You'll have to be careful in the park...
I don't smoke weed myself. But yes, we'll be careful.
Otherwise there is a fine of 1000 euros according to the Bavarian catalog of fines. Do you think this amount is too high and the fines too harsh?
Of course, the Free State made the catalog of fines so harsh on purpose. This is not about the issue, but is a piece of culture war.
You invited your CSU colleague Daniela Ludwig, opponent of this legalization, to “get started”. She probably won't come?
She canceled due to scheduling reasons. Don't worry: we won't walk past her office smoking.
Interview: Christian Deutschländer