Salzburg parties demand tighter rules for vending-machine shops

All parties in the Salzburg state parliament have called for stricter rules on vending-machine shops, saying tighter controls are needed for product ranges and age checks. The debate was reported by ORF.

The shops sell products including cannabis goods, alcohol and sex toys. In one shop in Saalfelden, in the Pinzgau region, customers can buy THC-containing cannabis drops, a hemp grinder and a pipe using a bank card, without showing identification.

The shop owner declined to comment to ORF on youth protection and referred the broadcaster to the operator of the cannabis vending machine. The operator said the products complied with all legal limits and would answer detailed questions about the range only through a lawyer.

Saalfelden now has three vending-machine shops. One uses fairground-style gaming machines and displays a customer leaderboard, ranking shoppers by how much they spend under nicknames. The operator said the leaderboard was legal and involved only small sums. The shop is also continuing to sell alcohol despite a ruling by the Administrative Court, saying the products are leftover stock.

A third shop has chosen not to sell alcohol or cannabis products. Its operator, Oguzhan Yilmaz, said he had made that decision because he has children and would not want them to have easy access to alcohol.

The state parliament debate followed a motion by the Freedom Party. Representatives from all parties backed stricter nationwide requirements, but said the state parliament could not change the rules because trade regulation is a federal matter for the National Council.

Deputy Governor Marlene Svazek of the Freedom Party, KPÖ representative Marcus Walter, Green Party representative Simon Heilig-Hofbauer and Social Democrat Roland Meisl all raised concerns about the products available and the potential effects on young people. Shop operators, meanwhile, say they are disadvantaged compared with traditional shops and tobacconists and are considering taking their case to the European Court of Justice.