Health
Cannabis ban at folk festivals? NRW is examining Bavaria’s move
Could smoking weed also be banned at folk festivals in North Rhine-Westphalia, like here at Cranger Kirmes in Herne? (Symbolic photo) photo
© Christoph Reichwein/dpa
After the partial legalization of cannabis, Bavaria is restricting public spaces for smoking weed as much as possible. Folk festivals are becoming cannabis-free zones. Also in North Rhine-Westphalia?
Doctors in North Rhine-Westphalia have called for a ban on cannabis at folk and shooting festivals. The North Rhine Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians (KV) wants the state to follow suit Bavaria follows. The cabinet decided on Tuesday that smoking weed at folk festivals and in beer gardens will be completely banned. KV boss Frank Bergmann spoke out in favor of such a ban in North Rhine-Westphalia and told the “Rheinische Post” that cannabis consumption often has a negative effect on the psyche and personality development of young adults.
The state government of North Rhine-Westphalia is still examining what rules there should be for implementation in the most populous federal state, as a spokesman for Health Minister Karl-Josef Laumann (CDU) said.
Showmen also want clear rules. “I’m in favor of banning cannabis at folk festivals. Nobody wants to sit in a festival tent where joints are smoked and bystanders get high,” said showman Oscar Bruch to the newspaper. “Although it will be difficult for law enforcement to enforce such a ban, it would still send a signal.”