Germany’s Lidl has been lighting up social media this week and the reason has little to do with the discounted grocery prices they are most famously known for. Instead, it is the chains decision to add smokable cannabis to the shelves of select stores just outside of the German border in Switzerland.
Since mid-April, Lidl stores across Switzerland have begun sales of two hemp flower products sourced from the local start-up company “The Botanicals“, marketing them as a tobacco substitute.
For €15 ($18), customers can purchase 1.5 grams of premium indoor cultivated Swiss hemp, and for those okay with their weed being grown in a greenhouse, three grams will only cost €16.50 ($20). Both products are guaranteed to contain no chemical, synthetic or genetically-modified additives.
While the sale of cannabis may be a high selling point for Lidl, customers looking to actually get high may be disappointed. These bags of hemp contain only a minimal trace of THC, the psychoactive substance that puts the fun in smoking a blunt.
German’s living close to the Swiss border can easily get their hands on Lidl’s weed, but those hoping to see a rollout across stores in Lidl’s home turf shouldn’t get their hopes up as Germany currently takes a much stricter stance against cannabis than its southern neighbor.
