Get drunk on beer, not high on cannabis, Oktoberfest punters told
Oktoberfest punters are welcome to drink as much beer as they like when they descend on Bavaria this year – but anyone hoping to enjoy a joint will be disappointed.
On Tuesday, the southern German state announced that it will ban the consumption of marijuana in public spaces including beer gardens, amid fears Olaf Scholz’s recent legalisation of the drug will plunge the festival into cannabis chaos.
For two centuries, Oktoberfest has been a headline event on Germany’s social calendar, with thousands filling up on the finest beers in the land as servers totter around with up to six steins in each hand.
But Clemens Baumgärtner, a politician from the conservative CSU party who is in charge of Oktoberfest planning, said that he wants to keep the festival weed-free.
“Cannabis simply has no place at the Oktoberfest,” he told the web.de news portal. “A family celebration like the Oktoberfest and cannabis consumption don’t go together for me.”
The new rules amount to a ban on taking cannabis in any form at Oktoberfest in an effort to ensure it remains a family-friendly event.
Markus Söder, the Bavarian president, said that the new rules would strengthen “child protection and youth protection” by giving local municipalities the power to introduce cannabis bans in certain venues.
“We will ban smoking weed in beer gardens and at festivals. In addition, municipalities will be able to ban smoking and vaping cannabis products in public areas, where many people regularly gather in a confined space, for example at tourist attractions, in outdoor swimming pools and amusement parks,” he said.
The row reflects growing friction between Mr Scholz’s liberal federal government and the CSU in Bavaria, which is one of Germany’s most conservative regions.
Germany voted through a new law on April 1 that permits Germans over 18 to carry up to 25g of cannabis on their person and cultivate up to three cannabis plants at home.
The drug is still completely banned for under 18s and cannot be consumed within a hundred metres of playgrounds, schools and nurseries.
The first Oktoberfest was held on Oct 12 1810 to celebrate the wedding of Crown Prince Ludwig von Bayern and Princess Therese, and it subsequently evolved into a major public festival.
