One of the key components of adult-use cannabis legalization in Germany is the ongoing evaluation of its policies and regulations by researchers and government officials. This is crucial in determining the effectiveness of the nation’s cannabis laws and industry regulations. The data collected from these evaluations, particularly from the EKOCAN project, will heavily influence future decisions made by German lawmakers.
Recently, several initial evaluation data points and findings have been released, and the results have been positive. The focus of these evaluations is primarily on three main components: child and youth protection, public health outcomes, and cannabis-related crime.
In terms of child and youth protection, a recent government study found that youth consumption rates have actually decreased since the first provisions of adult-use cannabis legalization were enacted on April 1, 2024. The German Federal Institute for Public Health conducted a study called the “Drug Affinity Study 2025,” which surveyed 7,001 young people between the ages of 12 and 25 from April to July 2025. The results were then compared to a similar study conducted between April and June 2023. The data showed that the proportion of youth aged 12 to 17 who reported consuming cannabis within the last year decreased from 6.7% in 2023 to 6.1% in 2025. Additionally, the proportion of youth who reported consuming cannabis more than ten times in the past 12 months also decreased from 1.3% in 2023 to 1.1% in 2025. These findings effectively debunked predictions by cannabis opponents that legalization would lead to a spike in youth consumption rates.
Another important aspect of the evaluations is measuring public health outcomes. While this can be challenging, one key measurement is surveying consumers to see if they are obtaining their cannabis from legal channels. The theory behind this is that if consumers are sourcing their cannabis from regulated sources instead of unregulated ones, the products they consume will be safer, thus improving public health outcomes. This was a crucial argument made by German lawmakers to obtain European Union approval for legalization. According to the Institute for Addiction Research at the Frankfurt University of Applied Sciences and the Evangelical University of Freiburg, a recent collaborative survey found that since the implementation of the Cannabis Act (CanG), 88.4% of adults have purchased legally produced cannabis in the last six months, compared to only 23.5% who used legal sources before the law was enacted.
In conclusion, ongoing evaluations of adult-use cannabis legalization in Germany have shown positive results in terms of child and youth protection, public health outcomes, and cannabis-related crime. These findings will continue to inform and shape future decisions made by German lawmakers, and the data collected will be crucial in ensuring the success of the nation’s cannabis policies and regulations.
