A cannabis dealer in Aschheim has recorded sales records since legalization. He reveals that his customers also include some politicians from the CSU.

Since the legalization of cannabis, the demand for hemp products has grown enormously. “tz.de” visited hemp entrepreneur Wenzel Cerveny (62), the owner of the hemp shop “Natur Erlebniswelt” in Aschheim. In the first month of legalization, Cerveny achieved sales of around 72,000 euros, as he reveals to the news site.

“Since legalization, customers have been running into my shop,” Cerveny told “tz.de”. Over 2,000 cuttings at 20 euros each made the cash registers ring in the first month after legalization. In addition, 20,000 euros came from the sale of cannabis seeds and 12,000 euros from the sale of other hemp items such as food, drugstore products and clothing.

According to Ceveny, the best way to sell so-called cuttings is to sell them. These are small shoots that just need to be planted in the home garden and will take root after one to two weeks. He sold 1,500 of them in the third week after legalization. And the hemp entrepreneur told “tz.de” that he was sure he would be able to make a big profit in the first month.

Cerveny’s customer base is largely of advanced age. “80 percent are between 45 and 70 years old,” says Cerveny. His customers would travel up to 200 kilometers to shop with him. The offer creates euphoria, says the hemp entrepreneur: “And then they come and hug us and thank us.”

According to the hemp entrepreneur, many customers reported that they had already grown cannabis in their youth and wanted to try it again after legalization. According to his own statements, Cerveny also has “CSU local politicians as customers, such as local councilors from the countryside”.

It is not known whether local politicians want to grow cannabis themselves or just buy pants or hemp cream from Cerveny. At a higher level, legalization was sharply criticized by the party leadership. Even before legalization, CSU regional group leader Alexander Dobrinth criticized cannabis as a dangerous drug. In an interview with FOCUS, he described the federal government’s educational campaign on the dangers of cannabis as “documentation of Lauterbach’s political failure”.

The Cannabis Act came into force on April 1, 2024 and regulates the possession, cultivation and consumption of cannabis. After that, adults are allowed to grow up to three plants at home and carry 25 grams of cannabis with them in public. If you don’t want to garden yourself, you can join a so-called cultivation association, as trading in cannabis flowers remains prohibited.

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