page_title: Cannabis in Germany
section_title: Enforcement
hierarchical_section_title: Cannabis in Germany / Enforcement
caption_attribution_description: English: Stall for cannabis legalization on the street Neuhauser Straße in Munich.This photograph was taken with an Olympus E-PL1
context_page_description: Cannabis in Germany is legal for certain limited medical contexts, but illegal for recreational usage, though possession of minor amounts is not always prosecuted.
context_section_description: The German narcotics law (Betäubungsmittelgesetz) states that authorities are not required to prosecute for the possession of a "minor amount" of any narcotic drug meant for personal consumption, except in cases "of public interest", i.e. consumption in public, in front of minors or within a public school or a state prison.  The definition of "minor amount" varies, from up to 6 grams of cannabis in most states to 15 grams in Berlin.
  Under German law, the consumption itself of narcotics is not illegal: legally speaking, it is considered as non-punishable self-harm. Legal commentaries recognise that it is possible to consume drugs without having bought them first, in a legal sense. This has the practical effect that a positive drug test does not necessarily mean that one has illegally purchased them.
  Despite the fact that there is no punishment de jure, consumers can be assessed psychological (MPU) for their driving suitability. Loss of drivers licence is not uncommon, followed by a regime of drug screenings to prove the suitability. Unlike for ethanol, whether one operated a motor vehicle under the influence (or indeed with trace amounts of THC in the bloodstream) is often immaterial.
caption: Cannabis legalization booth in Munich, 2014
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