Cannabis laws in Berlin, Germany
Legal for adults
Adults may possess limited cannabis in Berlin, but short-stay tourists have no legal shop or club to buy from.
Official sources checked November 6, 2026. This is news information, not legal advice. Laws and local penalties change — confirm with the destination's official sources before you travel.
Before you fly
Carrying cannabis across a border is treated separately from possessing it inside the country. Even where buying is legal, taking it onto a plane can be a customs or smuggling offence, and a domestic flight can become an international one the moment you connect somewhere else.
Current law at a glance
- Buying as a visitor
- Partial legalization did not create a retail market. Cultivation associations supply only eligible adult members who have lived in Germany at least six months, with a three-month minimum membership, and hand over at most 25 g a day or 50 g a month (30 g a month at no more than 10% THC for members aged 18–20). A short-stay tourist cannot walk in.
- Possession
- Adults 18 and over may carry up to 25 g away from their home and keep up to 50 g there, measured as dried cannabis. A holiday hotel does not create a 50 g entitlement. 25–30 g away from home, or 50–60 g overall, is an administrative offence; more crosses criminal thresholds. Section 36 sets a fine ceiling of €30,000 — a statutory maximum, not a typical Berlin ticket.
- Smoking in public
- Banned in the immediate presence of minors; at schools, playgrounds, youth facilities and public sports grounds, or within their sight zones (sight is legally excluded beyond 100 m from the entrance); in pedestrian zones from 07:00 to 20:00; and in cultivation associations and their sight zones. Smoke-free transport and premises rules still apply.
- Medical cannabis
- Medical cannabis is prescription-only and supplied by pharmacies, not shops, and since 1 April 2024 it is no longer classified as a narcotic under German domestic law. A visitor needs a genuine prescribing decision; acceptance of a particular foreign prescription was not verified.
- Home growing
- Adults resident in Germany for at least six months may grow up to three living plants at their home for personal use. That is not a holiday-accommodation permission, and the harvest still counts against possession limits.
- Borders
- Recreational import, export and transit remain banned, including under 25 g and including journeys inside Schengen. A domestic flight does not cross that border, but possession limits, airport rules and airline requirements still apply.
Key dates and proposed changes
1 April 2024
The Cannabis Act introduced limited adult possession and private growing, and medical cannabis left German narcotics classification. Recreational border controls stayed in place.
Federal Ministry of Health — Cannabis Act FAQBfArM — travelling with cannabis medicines
1 July 2024
The cultivation-association framework began. It did not create tourist retail sales.
11 December 2024
Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg and Neukölln announced a proposed scientific retail pilot for eligible adults living in those districts — a proposal, not an operating tourist exemption.
Berlin Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg — model-project announcement
2025–2026
Government evaluation reports are dated 1 October 2025 and 1 April 2026, and proposed limits on remote prescribing and mail order were described. None of those restrictions, a repeal of the 25 g/three-plant rules, or an operating Berlin tourist model was confirmed as law by 6 November 2026.
Federal Ministry of Health — Cannabis Act FAQFederal Ministry of Health — proposed medical-cannabis amendments FAQBerlin Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg — model-project announcement
Practical questions
Can I buy weed in Berlin as a tourist?
Not from an ordinary legal shop or a walk-in club. Clubs need eligible resident membership, and the announced Berlin research project targets qualifying district residents — its operational approval was not verified.
Federal Ministry of Health — Cannabis Act FAQBerlin Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg — model-project announcement
Can I smoke on the street?
Only where consumption is not prohibited: avoid minors, protected facilities and their sight zones, clubs and their sight zones, and pedestrian zones between 07:00 and 20:00. Being allowed to possess does not override smoke-free premises or transport rules.
Federal Ministry of Health — Cannabis Act FAQFederal legislation portal — KCanG section 36, administrative offences
Can I bring 25 g into Germany?
No. The domestic possession allowance is not an import allowance, and that holds when you arrive from another EU or Schengen country.
Can I fly home with it, or fly domestically?
Do not take recreational cannabis on an international flight out of Germany. On a wholly domestic flight the import/export ban is not triggered just by flying, but possession limits and carrier rules still matter — and an international connection or diversion can bring in another country's prohibitions.
Federal Ministry of Health — Cannabis Act FAQBfArM — travelling with cannabis medicines
Can I travel with a medical cannabis prescription?
Medical access runs through a doctor and pharmacy, not an automatic tourist right. For qualifying Schengen trips of up to 30 days, BfArM describes a doctor-completed certificate authenticated by the competent health authority; elsewhere it recommends an authenticated multilingual medical certificate and checking destination and transit law. Germany's reclassification did not remove those international paperwork requirements.
Federal Ministry of Health — Cannabis Act FAQBfArM — travelling with cannabis medicinesFederal Ministry of Health — proposed medical-cannabis amendments FAQ
What about CBD?
The adult possession allowance does not certify that a particular CBD flower, food, extract or imported product is lawful. Check the actual product instead of relying on its CBD label.
Latest Germany cannabis news
No Germany stories in today's feed. See all of today's cannabis news.