Starting today, Germany allows citizens to keep up to 25 grams of the drug in their homes and grow three cannabis plants.
Germans gathered last night in public places, including the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, to celebrate the law change.
From June, cannabis social clubs will be established where cannabis can be sold to members, but the size of these institutions will be limited to 500 members.
The law will be applied retroactively, so that anyone convicted of cannabis possession can have their sentence annulled.
State prosecutors in 16 regions of the country are evaluating thousands of cases to see which prisoners should be released before the law takes effect.
In Hamburg, police released 55 prisoners and stopped an active manhunt linked to the cannabis trade.
“These cases have the highest priority,” Hamburg prosecutors said.
