Berlin metro lures commuters with edible hemp tickets

A young woman holds an edible ticket, made of rice paper and basted with hempseed oil, from Berlin's public transport operator BVG in Berlin.
Image: Tobias Schwarz/ AFP

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.

"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 euros ($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 doner kebabs.

The new German government, sworn in last week, has agreed to legalise recreational use of 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 euros, the shoes bearing the design of seat covers on Berlin's U-Bahn trains were fitted with an annual ticket normally worth 761 euros.