Germany vs US Cannabis Culture
🌍 Many operators have their eye on Europe and are wondering how to go global by staking a claim for this new, European green rush.
It’s going to take more than business acumen to successfully build operations in Germany and other European countries. It will also require understanding cultural nuance and especially the differences in cannabis culture. My experience in Deutschland started 20+ years before I ever got into cannabis and I’m still deeply connected to Germany and German culture. My children are dual citizens of Germany and the US, and our family speaks a rare dialect called, “Germish.” It’s our unique blend of German and English sprinkled with some travel experience.
Many of the friends and colleagues I’ve met on this wild journey have schooled me on the quirks that differentiate how aficionados in the U.S. and Germany approach weed. Here are three of their insights:
🇩🇪 Lisa Haag, CEO of MJ Universe, a Berlin-based consultancy: “Every culture in Europe has its own specialty. The Fattones in Italy, for example, like to smoke tulips. In traditional German pot culture, it’s similar to sea smoking—but you might do that in America, too (like a bucket bong, but bigger).”
🌍 Ngaio Bealum, International comedian, activist and musician: “I've noticed that folks in Germany don't share their joints the way people in the U.S. do, or did before Covid. Folks are generally expected to roll their own. I think it's because spliffs are popular and everyone has their own preferred cannabis to tobacco ratio. Finding weed in Berlin is like a time warp to the U.S. in the 1990s. You gotta know a guy, or find someone in the park or the dance club and hope they have good stuff at a decent price. Oh, and Germans aren't allowed to throw festivals on 4/20 because it's Hitler’s Birthday.”
🇪🇸 Cedric Peres, owner of Choko Lounge & Art Gallery in Barcelona: “In France and Spain, everyone smokes their hash with tobacco, and their hash & rosin too. The mixture ratio is different from person to person. Most people just put a little bit of tobacco in for the combustion. Very few people smoke pure like in the U.S. A normal mix in a 1 gram joint is 0.7 or 0.6 grams of weed with 0.3 or 0.4 grams of tobacco. The combinations vary if you’re mixing with cannabis or hash or rosin but it’s very specific to the person and a normal part of consumption culture here in Europe.”
This past November, I return to Germany to emcee an event for the Talman Group in Munich. For those of you who don’t know, the Talman Group is a private group that brings European companies seeking capital together with European investors (HNW, family offices, VCs, PEs, etc..) Talman receives, sorts and selects investment opportunities that entrepreneurs pitch at the events. The Talman Group has been successful in getting investable companies funded at these highly curated events. (pun intended lol).
I’ll be Deutsch sprechen again when I return to emcee the upcoming Talman events: #TalmanZurich (February 21) and #TalmanBerlin (April 28) and I’ll be speaking at #ICBCBarcelona (March 13) and #ICBCBerlin (April 29, 30). If you’ll be in Europe, reach out and connect in advance. Wir treffen uns!
Whether you’re puff-puff passing a blunt or rolling a (personal) spliff, the plant unites us across borders and cultures. Do you have a cross-culture anecdotal nugget to share? Drop it below! ✨
