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Berlin public transport operator lures passengers with edible hemp tickets

Berlin's public transport network has come up with a novel way for commuters to ease the stress of Covid and Christmas as they travel: edible tickets laced with hemp oil.

Published: 14 December 2021 14:33 CET

The BVG hemp ticket in Berlin

The BVG hemp ticket in Berlin. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Fabian Sommer

“This way you can travel hassle-free around Berlin all day and then simply swallow your Christmas stress along with your ticket,” said public transport operator BVG, known for its quirky marketing stunts.

The tickets, which cost €8.80 ($9.95) each and are on sale until Friday, are made from edible paper sprinkled with “no more than three drops” of hemp oil, which is “said to have a calming effect” according to BVG.

They are valid for 24 hours and are “completely legal”, the company said.

“Hemp oil is 100 percent vegetarian and also makes an excellent salad dressing,” it added, suggesting that customers may like to wash their tickets down with one of Berlin’s famous Döner kebabs.

The new German government, sworn in last week, has agreed to legalise recreational use of cannabis.

READ ALSO: How Germany will legalise recreational cannabis

But BVG said it was “against any kind of drug use – whether illegal or legal. That is why there is a strict ban on drugs and alcohol in all BVG vehicles and stations.”

In 2018, hundreds of people braved long early-morning queues when BVG launched a limited-edition pair of Adidas sneakers that also functioned as an
annual metro ticket.

Retailing at €180, the shoes bearing the design of seat covers on Berlin’s U-Bahn trains were fitted with an annual ticket normally worth €761.

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Tesla's factory near Berlin gets approval for extension despite protests

The US electric car manufacturer said on Thursday it was “extremely pleased” that local officials in the town of Grünheide, where the factory is located, had voted to approve the extension.

Tesla opened the plant – its only production location in Europe – in 2022 at the end of a tumultuous two-year approval and construction process.

The carmaker had to clear a series of administrative and legal hurdles before production could begin at the site, including complaints from locals about the site’s environmental impact.

READ ALSO: Why is Tesla’s expansion near Berlin so controversial?

Plans to double capacity to produce a million cars a year at the site, which employs some 12,000 people, were announced in 2023.

The plant, which already occupies around 300 hectares (740 acres), was set to be expanded by a further 170 hectares.

But Tesla had to scale back its ambitions to grow the already massive site after locals opposed the plan in a non-binding poll.

The entrance to the Tesla factory in Brandenburg.

The entrance to the Tesla factory in Brandenburg. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Lutz Deckwerth

Their concerns included deforestation required for the expansion, the plant’s high water consumption, and an increase in road traffic in the area.

In the new proposal, Tesla has scrapped plans for logistics and storage centres and on-site employee facilities, while leaving more of the surrounding forest standing.

Thursday’s council vote in Grünheide drew strong interest from residents and was picketed by protestors opposing the extension, according to German media.

Protests against the plant have increased since February, and in March the plant was forced to halt production following a suspected arson attack on nearby power lines claimed by a far-left group.

Activists have also built makeshift treehouses in the woodland around the factory to block the expansion, and environmentalists gathered earlier this month in their hundreds at the factory to protest the enlargement plans.

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