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Don’t get high at Oktoberfest, Bavaria warns
Authorities in Germany’s Bavaria have said they want to restrict the use of cannabis at Oktoberfest beer festival in Munich.
The plea follows Germany legalising recreational marijuana earlier this month, a move opposed by the Bavaria-based conservative CSU party.
Local reports across Germany have suggested that if the plan comes into effect, cannabis consumption would be banned in beer gardens, at public festivals and on restaurant terraces.
In a statement, Bavaria’s government said that it wants to “limit the public consumption of cannabis despite the federal government’s dangerous legalisation law.”
Clemens Baumgärtner, the head of Oktoberfest, told web.de news that he ideally wanted to keep the festival cannabis-free and explained: “A family festival like the [Oktoberfest] and cannabis consumption don’t go together.”
Markus Söder, also of the CSU party, said that the decision is because “Bavaria is strengthening the protection of children and young people”.
Echoing this, Bavarian health minister Judith Gerlach added: “Our aim is to limit cannabis consumption in public spaces. That is important for health protection and especially for protecting children and young people.”
Germany’s new law regulating cannabis cane into effect on 1 April giving Germany what reports have observed to be some of the most liberal laws on the consumption of the drug in Europe.
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