At the stroke of midnight on 1 April, the area around Berlin’s famous Brandenburg Gate was shrouded in a fog of smoke emanating from the thousands of lit joints. The German Cannabis Association organised a smoke-in to celebrate the legalisation of the recreational consumption of cannabis (or marijuana). Around 1,500 people had assembled this spring night to celebrate publicly what was deemed illegal until then.
Masha M. was one of the revellers celebrating this decriminalisation of cannabis use. “I am happy because now I can plant my cannabis, which is excellent. Earlier, this was illegal. I have worked for a long time with drug addicts, and it is very important to remove this taboo on cannabis consumption and decriminalise it.”
33-year-old Markus H. attracted much attention thanks to his placard, which had the number 420 alongside the hemp leaf traced out with LED lights. Having gotten into trouble twice with the authorities, Mr. Markus was pleased that he would no longer have to worry about consuming cannabis in public.
