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Poll stubs out legal cannabis hopes

The Local Germany
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Poll stubs out legal cannabis hopes
Photo: DPA

Nearly two thirds of Germans are against cannabis being made legal, a new study shows. Only among Green party supporters would a majority like the drug decriminalized.

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Sixty-five percent of Germans say they would reject relaxing laws restricting the production, sale and consumption of marijuana, according to the study conducted by opinion pollsters Forsa for Stern magazine.

Just under a third of those asked (29 percent) would like to see the drug legalized, while six percent said they have no opinion on the issue. Among supporters of the Green Party, those in favour of legalization jumped up to 51 percent. 

The study was released just over a week after Colorado became the first US state to vote to allow citizens over 21 to buy and consume cannabis recreationally without fear of legal consequences.

The poll of 1,003 Germans will come as a blow to Berlin Green politician Monika Herrmann, who is battling to open a Dutch-style coffee shop in the capital selling cannabis over the counter. 

Herrmann is mayor of Berlin's Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg district in which the drug is notoriously readily available to buy on the streets. In November she appealed to the city Senate to tackle the recent explosion in the number of drug dealers with a legal shop to ensure quality control, wrote the magazine.

However, as long as the drug remains technically illegal in Germany, Herrmann will have to get a special exemption from the authorities before her legal coffee shop dream can become a reality. And with public opinion leaning towards a strict ban, that may prove difficult.  

READ MORE: Smoking cannabis farm gives game away to cops

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