German Cannabis Social Clubs organize to promote cannabis self-cultivation

In late October, a dozen German Cannabis Social Clubs (CSCs) founded the «Dachverband der Cannabis Social Clubs Deutschland» (Association of Cannabis Social Clubs of Germany) in Berlin. The CSCD will help people grow their own cannabis plants and provide political representation for the growing number of cultivation communities.

In addition to representing the interests of and serving as the voice for Cannabis Social Clubs in Germany, the CSCD is exploring several ways to assist German CSCs.

It will support clubs through educational campaigns on CSCs, help members manage the clubs, and offer services related to growing cannabis at home.

«The time has come,» said Steffen Geyer, president of the CSCD, «to do what no one has ever done before in Germany—or even in Europe—we’ve organized ourselves to provide our members with the best cannabis-based products we can, in an affordable and flexible way, while maintaining high quality and within a social network.».

«The association currently represents nearly two dozen clubs with a few hundred members. »But we […] are already seeing a wave of new CSCs being established," reports Henry Wieker, president of CSC Hannover.

Gaby Kozar, ENCOD’s spokesperson in Austria, who participated online, emphasized in her welcome remarks that cannabis control societies across Europe are waiting to see what happens in Germany. The mistakes made in the future regulation of the first EU country to have legalized the cannabis market could happen again in other states.

ENCOD, the European Coalition for a Just and Effective Drug Policy, promotes Cannabis Social Clubs across Europe since 2003 and also provided financial support for the establishment of the German association.

The CSCD announced that it would soon present a list of demands from the few hundred organized cannabis growers.

What are Cannabis Social Clubs?

The Cannabis Social Clubs are nonprofit organizations dedicated to the collective cultivation of cannabis.

They teach the skills needed to care for live hemp plants, organize collective cultivation, and distribute cannabis-derived products to their members.

Cannabis social clubs promote responsible consumption and the safe use of cannabis products through close social interaction.

Cannabis clubs already officially exist in Uruguay, Spain, and Belgium (where they are hard to get rid of) or in the United Kingdom. According to advocates of CSCs, they are an effective way to prevent cannabis abuse thanks to their low-threshold approach to social control.