When it was founded in 2016, the Cannabis Social Club of Hanover dreamed of seeing joints authorized in Germany. Its nine members demonstrated, campaigned at Christmas markets and festivals and… smoked in secret.
However, the legalization of cannabis expected for next year, following the adoption of a bill by the government, should turn the life of the small association upside down: its members, whose number has already jumped, will be able to cultivate together their grass and consume it, under certain conditions and in small quantities.
The Cannabis Social Clubs are indeed at the heart of the project.
The members (a maximum of 500) of these non-profit associations will be able to grow cannabis, solely for their own consumption, at the rate of three plants per person, under the supervision of the public authorities.
However, they will not be allowed to smoke inside the club and within 200 meters of it.
Each member will be able to obtain supplies from the association at the rate of 25 grams per day and a maximum of 50 grams per month. For young people aged 18 to 21, it will be a little less: 30 grams per month.
This prospect has caused the number of Cannabis Social Clubs to soar, which now number around 100 in Germany, and applications for membership of the one in Hannover, one of the oldest in the country, have exploded.
“Over the past few months, nearly 800 people have contacted us,” says its founder, Heinrich Wieker, a 58-year-old former electrical engineer. So far, it has only accepted 57.
“I want to know them. I have to integrate them into the team and assign them a task”, he explains to AFP, before opening one of the two weekly meetings at the end of the afternoon. club, in a coworking space, rented by the hour to a community centre.
Seven people participate that day. No smell of joints emanates from the room, which looks more like an ordinary workplace with its desks, computers and whiteboard than a place to relax. Except for the presence of a sofa.
On this day, it is particularly a question of agriculture and the prevention of cases of addiction. “On Sunday, we went to see in Hanover a place where we could possibly cultivate,” says Oliver W., a 48-year-old retired electrician.
“Either we grow plants under artificial lights in small cabins”, often already used in hiding, explains Heinrich Wieker.
Another option: “having a large planting outside, which I personally prefer because it’s the most sustainable method,” he adds.
Hippie style, batik shirt and matching orange sandals, Heinrich Wieker, who previously worked in the pharmaceutical, chemical and automotive industry, founded his own company at the same time as the club to manufacture machines for harvesting cannabis flowers.
At the moment, joining the club costs each new member 20 euros, plus a monthly fee of 5 euros. This price, which essentially covers the rental of the premises, should necessarily increase if it includes the supply of drugs.
According to Mr. Wieker, the simplest solution would be to sell cannabis to members by the gram: “Anyone who uses the club a lot should pay more than one who rarely uses it,” he sums up.
According to him, the price should fluctuate between 5 to 15 euros per gram, in order to cover production costs, which is roughly what a consumer pays in a pharmacy or on the street. Oliver W. imagines it at 8 euros.
The bill also provides for each club to have a member responsible for preventing addictive behavior.
In Mr. Wieker’s, a self-help group has already formed among members previously addicted to various substances including alcohol or heroin.
“We are attentive to any problematic consumption,” he says, adding that the club is in contact with an association that helps drug addicts.
While cannabis will remain banned for those under 18, Mr. Wieker also says he wants to offer advice to parents faced with the addiction of their children.
08/31/2023 08:31:19 – Hannover (Germany) (AFP) – © 2023 AFP
