Frankfurt’s Battle: The Growing Shadow of the Cannabis Black Market

The black cannabis market in Frankfurt has experienced a boom since legalization. This is reported by the Frankfurter Neue Presse.

Despite the legalization of cannabis, only a few applications have been submitted in Frankfurt to establish cultivation associations. There are many reasons for this.

Although the first legally grown cannabis plants are now being harvested in many Frankfurt apartments, the effects of legalization in the city are rather small. Although the smell of grass is a little more common, the feared boom has not materialized.

This is particularly noticeable in the applications to establish cultivation associations: in Frankfurt, up to 129 such associations could be formed, but just two months after the law came into force, the Darmstadt Regional Council has only received two applications. In the whole of Hesse, only 14 applications have been submitted so far. Of these, two each were in Kassel, in the district of Gießen and in the Vogelsberg district. One each in Offenbach and the districts of Groß-Gerau, Limburg-Weilburg, Marburg-Biedenkopf and Wetterau.

Cannabis is legal in Frankfurt, but not yet established

This could be due, among other things, to the fact that interested parties have to submit numerous documents, such as certificates of good conduct, and require an Elster certificate for the electronic application. In addition, the prevention officer of the respective cultivation club must prove that they have taken part in an addiction prevention training course.

In Hesse, however, it has not yet been determined who is actually allowed to offer this training. A three-month deadline for submitting the documents could be too short for many cultivation associations, especially since the application costs between 500 and 1000 euros. None of the 14 applications have been approved so far.

The Frankfurt Public Order Office, which is responsible for monitoring the cultivation associations, has also not yet experienced the expected additional burden. A spokeswoman said that they are currently in consultation with the police to regulate the implementation of the law on cannabis for consumption in Frankfurt. A key question is how to deal with confiscated cannabis.

The number of violations of the law due to excessive amounts of cannabis is also low: 17 cases are currently pending, one of which has already been concluded. The public order office has so far collected 278.50 euros as a result. It takes action when people are caught with 25 to 30 grams of cannabis in public or 50 to 60 grams at home. Smaller amounts are legal, larger amounts constitute a criminal offense and are prosecuted by the police. Smoking weed within sight of playgrounds or schools also falls under the jurisdiction of the public order office.

There are also hardly any changes in the Frankfurt police

Little has changed at the Frankfurt police either, according to a spokesman. “We still have to check people to see if they have more cannabis than is allowed.” Although there is no bureaucratic effort involved in reporting cannabis if it is less than 25 grams, the black market will remain as there are no social clubs yet. “We therefore have to keep monitoring and checking the dealers.” A well-founded interim assessment will not be possible until summer next year at the earliest, when the cultivation associations have become established.

Much fuss about little cannabis: So far only two applications have been submitted from Frankfurt
Meanwhile, more and more cities are announcing that they want to apply for a model project for the controlled commercial distribution of cannabis. Wiesbaden signed a corresponding letter of intent in mid-August, and the Groß-Gerau district did the same in July. Darmstadt, Offenbach and Frankfurt have long expressed their interest.

The city of Frankfurt intends to continue to stick to these plans. “We are currently still examining the form in which scientific and practical implementation should take place,” said the health department. A timetable cannot yet be given.

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(Featured image by Leonhard_Niederwimmer via Pixabay)

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First published in HanfJournal. A third-party contributor translated and adapted the article from the original. In case of discrepancy, the original will prevail.

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