The strange politics behind a Berlin neighborhood's plan to legalize pot dealing

It's the latest Northern European city to see pro- and anti-marijuana forces face off
The Atlantic Citylab (US)
September 19, 2013

First Copenhagen, now Berlin. As a new wave of debate on Cannabis legalization sweeps across Northern Europe, the German capital has become the next city where pro- and anti-cannabis liberalization forces are going head to head. The Green Party's Monika Herrmann, who became mayor of the Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg borough, announced that she wants to set up a coffeeshop selling cannabis. Using the word coffeeshop, perhaps shows up the current limits of the legalization lexicon, as Herrmann insists that what she has in mind will be nothing like the social hubs selling coffee and grass that Amsterdam is known for.