(Picture: Shutterstock / Volker Vornehm)
Millions of people planning to visit the famous Christmas market in Frankfurt have been warned of risks to public health and safety.
Children’s health is threatened by weed consumption at Christmas markets, while knife crime also posed a ‘high escalation risk’, Hesse’s government said.
The state’s interior minister, Roman Poseck, announced plans on Wednesday to ban cannabis at Christmas markets, including the iconic Frankfurt market.
There will also be increased police presence to enforce a knife ban, he added.
Poseck, who is a member of the conservative Christian Democratic Union party, said: ‘It is clear: The smell of cannabis, hash cookies, and joints do not belong at the Christmas market.
‘We want citizens to go out and enjoy the Christmas markets without worries.
‘Safety also includes effective child and youth protection. That is why I advocate for a cannabis ban at Christmas markets.’
Cannabis was partially decriminalised by the German government earlier this year, with over 18s allowed to possess up to 25g of cannabis in public.
Germans can also join ‘Growers associations’ or ‘social clubs’ with up to 500 members.
The law, which is opposed by the CDU, also bans cannabis consumption in the presence of minors.
‘I remain firm in my belief that cannabis legalisation was a mistake,’ Hesse’s interior minister added.
‘In addition to the health risks, particularly difficult boundary issues and new control tasks have arisen in practice.’
Heightened police checks, aimed at enforcing a knife ban at Christmas markets, follows the death of three people in a knife attack at a festival in the city of Solingen last August.
The Christmas market in Frankfurt opens on November 25 and is expected to attract more than 3,000,000 visitors to over 200 stalls before it closes on December 22.
It is one of the oldest and largest Christmas Markets in Germany, running since 1393.
Following the announcement, weed will now also be banned at the 196 other Christmas markets in Hessen, which includes the ‘Shooting Star Market’ in the state capital at Wiesbaden.
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