Where can you smoke weed in Dortmund?
The same rules apply in Dortmund as everywhere else in Germany. Under the Consumer Cannabis Act (KCanG), adults may consume cannabis in public, but not in the presence of minors, not within sight of schools, children’s playgrounds, children’s and youth facilities, public sports facilities and cultivation associations, and not in pedestrian zones between 7 am and 8 pm (§ 5 KCanG). The map above shows around 1,300 such zones in Dortmund; many people know maps like this as a “Bubatzkarte”, German slang for a weed map.
What the law says
The KCanG prohibits the consumption of cannabis in certain places (§ 5 KCanG). The map above shows the zones that the City of Dortmund publishes for this purpose. It is no substitute for looking around you: what counts is the situation on the spot.
Everywhere: not in the presence of minors
If children or young people under 18 are right there, consumption is prohibited, whether outdoors or at home (§ 5 para. 1 KCanG). No map can show this ban; it applies everywhere.
Within sight of certain facilities
Public consumption is prohibited in schools, on children’s playgrounds, in children’s and youth facilities and in publicly accessible sports facilities, and in each case within sight of them (§ 5 para. 2 nos. 1 to 4 KCanG). According to the law, a place is no longer within sight if it is more than 100 metres from the entrance area.
The circles on the map have a radius of 100 metres around the location of the facility as recorded by the city, not around the entrance. They are therefore an approximation: close to the edge of a circle, the situation may be different.
In pedestrian zones between 7 am and 8 pm
In pedestrian zones, public consumption is prohibited between 7 am and 8 pm (§ 5 para. 2 no. 5 KCanG). Outside these hours, the other bans still apply there, that is, in the presence of minors and within sight of the facilities.
Cultivation associations and the armed forces
Public consumption is also prohibited on the premises of cultivation associations and within sight of them (§ 5 para. 2 no. 6 KCanG) and in military areas of the German armed forces, the Bundeswehr (§ 5 para. 3 KCanG). The map does not show these places.
The Cannabis in Dortmund page explains the other rules in Dortmund, from possession and home growing to road traffic.
Frequently asked questions
Can I smoke weed in Dortmund’s pedestrian zone?
Not between 7 am and 8 pm. This applies in all pedestrian zones, in the city centre for example on Westenhellweg and Ostenhellweg. From 8 pm, consumption there is only permitted if no minors are present and no school, playground or other protected facility is within sight.
Does a 100-metre distance always apply?
Not quite. Consumption is prohibited within sight of the facility. At more than 100 metres from the entrance area, the law says a place is no longer within sight. Closer than that, it depends on whether the entrance can be seen. The map draws 100-metre circles around the location and is therefore an approximation.
Can I smoke weed near children?
No. Consumption in the immediate presence of children and young people under 18 is prohibited everywhere, including at home and outside the zones on the map (§ 5 para. 1 KCanG).
How much is the fine in NRW?
In North Rhine-Westphalia, consumption in a no-consumption zone carries a fine of €50 to €500, and consumption in the immediate presence of minors €300 to €1,000. This is set out in the state’s catalogue of fines, published by the NRW Ministry of Health.
Is the map official?
No. We draw it from the data published by the City of Dortmund. You will find the official map on the City of Dortmund’s geoportal; the link is below under Sources.
Where the data comes from
The zones come from the City of Dortmund’s geodata service, and the names of the facilities from the city’s open data portal. We draw the map itself from OpenStreetMap data; it is hosted on our server and loads nothing from third-party servers. The date of the data is given below the map. You will find the official map on the City of Dortmund’s geoportal (in German).
No guarantee
All information is provided without guarantee and makes no claim to be complete. The map is not legal advice. Facilities may be missing, may be added or may be located differently from what the data shows. What counts is the law and the situation on the spot.
Sources
- Consumer Cannabis Act (KCanG), § 5 (in German)
- MAGS NRW: rules and fines for cannabis control (in German)
- City of Dortmund, geoinformation: no-consumption zones (in German)