Germany recently allowed the restricted consumption of cannabis, but clubs that grow and share the plant say they are experiencing challenging levels of bureaucracy.
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00:00Niko Schock was hoping to take advantage of Germany's new laws allowing for the possession
00:08of marijuana, but his dreams of setting up a cannabis club to share the drug with others
00:13in Berlin is now on the move.
00:16He's setting up an office in the neighboring state of Brandenburg because he says the process
00:20for getting a license in the capital city has been so unclear.
00:25I think that a lot of clubs are like very unsure now because the requirements are very
00:32high and yeah that they still wanted to wait maybe to have like a clear situation and to
00:42know that the application will be also like positive.
00:47Clubs that grow and share marijuana are one of the ways consumers are allowed to access
00:51the drug since its consumption with restrictions was made illegal in April, but applicants
00:57are experiencing different levels of bureaucracy in different states.
01:01Berlin's local government told Euronews that the city's health department will be handling
01:06approval of clubs, but an analysis of the costs need to be carried out first.
01:12In the meantime, districts will be handling applications.
01:16The slow process for clubs is a special hindrance for users in Berlin, which has a significantly
01:22higher use of the drug compared to the national average.
01:26A 2021 survey found that more than half of Berliners have consumed cannabis at least
01:32once.
01:33Proponents say the challenges could push users to illegal sources.
01:37A lot of people that were going to set up felt like it was too bureaucratic, so they
01:43decided not to set up cannabis cultivation associations.
01:47Now with less cannabis cultivation associations, that doesn't leave, that leaves many consumers
01:51in the dark and it does give them the attitude or the feeling that they might have to revert
01:57back to the illicit market.
01:59While owning cannabis has been legalized, it has not stopped the black market.
02:04You can come to a park in central Berlin and buy it illegally.
02:08There's concerns of such a black market that could eventually lead to the law being reversed.
02:13The conservative Christian Democratic Party, which is leading in the polls, told Euronews
02:18that undoing the law will be a priority after next year's election.
02:23The party said there was a massive increase in drug-related crime, but the health ministry
02:28told Euronews that such crime statistics are not yet available for this year.
02:33As for Nico, he says that uncertainty has dampened the once celebratory mood.
02:39I was waiting for the legalization and fighted for it for many years, so of course I was
02:44very excited and looking forward to it when it announced that it becomes legal on the
02:50first of April this year, but now everybody is a little bit disappointed.