The incoming German government is planning to legalise cannabis for recreational use.
The coalition formed by the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD), Greens and Free Democrats (FDP), which is taking power from Angela Merkel's conservative CDU party, agreed to introduce legislation to authorise the sale of weed in licensed shops.
If the law is approved, Germany will be the first European country to legalise recreational sale of cannabis.
Medicinal use is already legal in many European countries and some have decriminalised recreational use.
Legalisation could reduce black market sale, organised crime and free up police resources, some politicians and experts believe.
But German police unions are against legalisation.
According to a study by the University of Düsseldorf, legalising cannabis could boost Germany’s annual revenue by more than €4.7bn.