Bavaria bans smoking cannabis at public festivals, Oktoberfest and beer gardens

Women with glasses of beer on day one of the 188th Oktoberfest beer festival in Munich, Germany, in 2023 (Matthias Schrader/AP)

The southern German state of Bavaria has said it will ban the smoking of cannabis at public festivals, inside beer gardens and even at the world’s most popular beer festival, Oktoberfest.

Local authorities in Bavaria will also be allowed to prohibit cannabis consumption in public areas such as outdoor swimming pools and leisure parks such as Munich’s Englischer Garten, German news agency dpa reported.