German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has defended the recent legalization of cannabis in Germany during his visit to Tongji University in Shanghai on Monday.
A concerned student, who plans to study in Berlin from September, asked the chancellor how to avoid cannabis, after reading that students in Germany were now growing it in their flats - something that was illegal in China. "That's why I'm very worried," he said.
He asked Scholz what to bear in mind "if I don't want to try cannabis at all and don't want to jeopardize my own health."
Scholz said the answer was simple: "Don't smoke it." The chancellor pointed out that he was now almost 66 and had "never smoked cannabis."
Scholz countered the impression that everyone in Berlin was now going around with joints: "If you study in Berlin, you can be out and about all the time and never meet anyone who does that."
The aim of Germany's new cannabis regulation, which has been in force since April 1, is to reduce rather than increase cannabis use by taking it out of a legal grey zone, Scholz told the student.
Shanghai is the second stop on the Chancellor's three-day visit to China after Chongqing. On Tuesday, he will continue on to Beijing for political talks with President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang.