latest issue — Arts And Flowers “Grow” Spring 2024 Issue #1

Legal, egal

Cannabis is a drug. A really popular drug whose use was prohibited for a long time. This changed on April 1, 2024. Public consumption at certain times and possession of up to 25g of cannabis was legalized in Germany. The drug has thus been decriminalized. “Smoking weed is less harmful and somehow also good for the soul — better than alcohol at least,” says 24-year-old Salma from Berlin. She and eleven other people between the ages of 19 and 32 were portrayed and interviewed by Berlin photographer Finn Waldherr before legalization — while they were high. The photos in this beautiful essay were taken on a large-format camera, developed in the darkroom and compiled to tryptichs.

24 July 2024

Photography: Finn Waldherr
Words: Mara Waldherr

"Not so much for now."

A total of 8.8% of people between the ages of 18 and 64 tried cannabis at least once in 2023. That is around 4.5 million people. In the 12 to 17 age group, the figure is 7.6% (DHS 2023). Axel (30) smoked his first joint in the woods when he was 13. His friends were there. He didn‘t feel much at first, but relatively quickly he started to feel bad. Milan (22) got his first joint from his mother for his 18th birthday. He also felt sick after two puffs. Rosalie (19), who smoked her first joint at the age of 15, reported the same. Nevertheless, they all sat in front of the camera with a joint as part of this project. How is it that they all feel so comfortable with cannabis despite their bad first experience? Just like Milan, Axel and Rosalie, the group of friends also paved the way for Dominik (32) to use cannabis. At some point, however, he started to get weed on his own. “I think that when you start getting your own weed, then you‘re officially a stoner,” says Dominik. For Justus (27) and Carlos (24), it was the music culture surrounding the hip-hop genre and films and media in general that introduced them to weed consumption, also at school age. “I started out pretty responsibly,” says Carlos, "and I‘m glad that cannabis is part of my life. Very important - I say cannabis is part of my life, but it‘s not my life.”

Thilo, 28

Mara, 24

Rosalie, 19

Sasha, 20

“People are hopefully no longer afraid of police checks.” (Sasha)

But what exactly has legalization changed for those surveyed? Almost all of the twelve people surveyed answered the question in advance with “not so much for now.” In second place, over a third of respondents emphasized that legalization would ensure a more controlled supply of cannabis. In addition, people would then know where the weed comes from and what quality it is. This would minimize the risk of getting hold of ‘laced stuff.’ It was also emphasized that legalization would lead to greater public acceptance of weed. “You get the feeling that you can‘t smoke weed as freely as people smoke cigarettes,” says Salma (24). Legalization is intended to further normalize the public consumption of weed. This raises the entirely justified question as to what extent the normalization of this drug should be the goal of legalization at all.

Carlos, 24

“Cannabis is part of my life, but it's not my life.” (Carlos)

Justus, 27

Ronja, 30

Axel (30) and Sasha (20) also answered the question to the effect that people would no longer have to be afraid of police checks once legalization had been implemented. Smoking weed in public would become more relaxed. However, legalization still brings regulations with it. Consumption is still prohibited around schools, daycare centers, playgrounds and public sports facilities. It is not allowed to smoke weed in pedestrian zones between 7 am and 8 pm. Milan (22) thinks it feels as if the government hadn‘t really thought through the law in advance. He also thinks that people won‘t start smoking weed as a result of legalization and that it won‘t change much in the future.