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Germany and Austria Are Pouring Billions Into Cannabis Prohibition

Michael Knodt

Leafly

Saturday 10 Sep 2016

Despite government budgets in European countries being stretched to the limit, newly released data show that Germany and Austria have continued to spend billions of euros annually on cannabis prohibition.

The German federal government is plowing €5.2 billion to €6.1 billion each year into repressive anti-drug measures, with the lion’s share focused on cannabis, according to data released by the country’s Left party. Charges for selling or growing cannabis make up nearly three-quarters of all registered drug offenses in the country of 80 million residents.

Berlin is particularly striking example of the heavy focus on enforcement. The German capital is generally regarded as liberal; possession of 10 to 15 grams of cannabis will be cited by authorities, but offenders generally won’t be prosecuted. Last year, however, Germany’s interior minister decided to repeal this generous rule within the area of Görlitzer Park. This tourist hot spot, where one could once easily pick up a gram and even consume in public, is now a zero-tolerance zone.

Public consumption of cannabis isn’t unusual in Berlin, and dealers have moved to different spots around the park to avoid detection. That means most victims of the government’s strict enforcement are inexperienced consumers or visiting from elsewhere. They have no idea that, since 2015, a joint in Görlitzer Park has been seen by police as a serious offense. The change has confounded many local residents in the liberal district surrounding Görlitzer Park.

In the first six months after the new rule came into force, police spent 58,000 extra hours in park, according to government data, costing the Berlin taxpayers over €2 million. That’s money that could be spent on schools or seniors. And any positive effect of the measure has yet to be seen. Even the German Senate admitted that “nothing has radically changed” as a result of the millions spent on enforcement. Today, street sales are more visible than ever — and not just in and around the “Görli,” as the park is known. Illegal sales have also overflowed into a neighboring park.

https://www.leafly.com/news/politics/germany-austria-pouring-billions-cannabis-prohibition/

 

 

 

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