While Bavaria is home to the world-famous Oktoberfest, it is not the place to get high. Public festivals, beer gardens, and the world's most famous beer festival, Oktoberfest, will all be off-limits to cannabis smoking in a southern German state that the administration said on Tuesday.
The Englischer Garten in Munich and other public parks in Bavaria, as well as outdoor pools, will be able to have cannabis bans imposed by local authorities, according to the German news agency dpa.
Our aim is to limit cannabis consumption in public spaces," stated Judith Gerlach, the Bavarian minister of health. Protecting the health of all people, but particularly children and teenagers, is of the utmost importance.
Following Germany's nationwide legalization of small amounts of cannabis for recreational use earlier this month, Bavaria has followed suit. The conservative-led state administration of Bavaria has been outspoken in its rejection to cannabis legalization in its limited form.
On April 1, new regulations were implemented countrywide in Germany that let adults to possess up to 25 grams (about 1 ounce) of recreational marijuana and allow for the cultivation of up to three plants for personal usage.
The second provision of the law, which permits adults in Germany to join cannabis-growing clubs for the purpose of purchasing marijuana, will go into force on July 1.
The state administration of Bavaria is advocating a stringent interpretation of the cannabis law, which includes a prohibition on smoking in all enclosed smoking spaces, including outdoor dining establishments. According to dpa, the prohibition will also cover submerging cannabis and its derivatives in heat or vapour.
It is not legal to smoke cannabis near kids, and children and young people are often present at public celebrations like the Oktoberfest, according to the Bavarian state government, which is why they believe the prohibition of weed consumption is necessary.
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