Cannabis users in Germany's capital, Berlin, gathered at Brandenburg Gate on Monday to welcome a new law decriminalizing the personal use of the drug.
At midnight, it became legal for adults in Germany to carry up to 25 grans of cannabis and cultivate up to three marijuana plants at home.
"We can finally show ourselves, we don't have to hide any more," Henry Plottke, a member of the German Hemp Association (DHV), told dpa at the Berlin gathering.
The event was organized by the Berlin chapter of the DHV and was registered with the police.
What does the new law allow?
Adults aged 18 and over will be allowed to carry up to 25 grams of cannabis for their own consumption.
Public consumption will be allowed, so long as it is not within sight of children or near sports facilities. It will also be prohibited in pedestrian zones between 7 a.m. and 8 p.m.
Adults will also be allowed to store up to 50 grams of the drug at home, as well as keep three plants for home cultivation.
Special cannabis clubs will be allowed to grow and purchase the drug on a limited basis from July 1. The clubs can have up to 500 members.
The law, which has been met with some criticism amid concerns for the health of German youth, makes Germany among the most liberal countries in Europe in regard to cannabis consumption.
Germany is, however, not the first European country to relax cannabis regulation. The use of small quantities of cannabis has long been decriminalized in Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, the Czech Republic, Belgium, and the Netherlands, though there too, certain rules remain in place.
