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German officials have released a report on the impact of the nation\u2019s marijuana legalization law, finding that fears from opponents about youth use, traffic safety and more have so far proved largely unfounded. However, the illicit market has not meaningfully diminished under the limited legal regulatory model that has been rolled out in the country to date.<\/p>\n
The interim report, which was required under the cannabis law enacted last year, assessed a series of health, public safety and economic factors associated with the end of prohibition.<\/p>\n
Among the most notable findings in the document published on Monday is the fact that youth marijuana use has continued to decline, even after possession and home cultivation were legalized for adults and social clubs offering access to members opened.<\/p>\n
Further, \u201cno clear changes in the previous trend in cannabis consumption among adults could be observed,\u201d the report, conducted on behalf of the federal Ministry of Health, says, according to a translation.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe percentage increase in adults who have consumed cannabis in the last 12 months, which has been observed since approximately 2011, is likely to continue\u2026without any drastic changes,\u201d it says.<\/p>\n
A separate recent study conducted by German federal health officials also found that rates of marijuana use declined among youth after the country legalized adult-use cannabis<\/a>, contradicting one of the more common prohibitionist arguments against the reform.<\/p>\n Another finding of the new legalization evaluation concerns traffic safety, with researchers determining that there\u2019s been no meaningful change in incidents on the roadways associated with the policy change.<\/p>\n \u201cIn the area of \u200b\u200broad safety, partial legalization has so far shown no significant changes in self-reported driving under the influence of cannabis or in the number of people killed or injured in road traffic,\u201d the report<\/a> states.<\/p>\n Early data on the impact of legalization on the illicit market indicates that the law has \u201cnot yet made a significant contribution to the displacement of the black market intended by the legislature,\u201d the report found.<\/p>\n One reason for the continued presence of the illegal market could be related to how Germany\u2019s legalization law is being rolled out, with a limited number of social clubs that grow cannabis for members to consume\u2014but without a comprehensive commercial industry that could provide wider access to adults. And even if broad retail launches, it may take time to substantially transition consumers to the legal market, which has been the case in Canada and U.S. states that have enacted the reform.<\/p>\n For now, if Germany intends to substantially shift people to the legal market, \u201cthe framework for the approval and operation of cultivation associations must be simplified,\u201d the report says.<\/p>\n It also advises that, based on current information, there\u2019s not a need to change the possession limit of 25 grams.<\/p>\n \u201cThe first interim report published today confirms that the legalization of cannabis was the right and long overdue step,\u201d MP Carmen Wegge of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) said<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cThe independent evaluation shows no significant increase in cannabis consumption among adults and even a decrease among minors, no noticeable negative effects on the health of adults, and significantly fewer criminal proceedings,\u201d she said. \u201cBut the core message is clear: Partial legalization protects health and improves the ability of the constitutional state to act.\u201d<\/p>\n But Federal Health Minister Nina Warken, a member of the anti-legalization Christian Democratic Union, said the results so far show \u201cworrying trends, despite the lack of further data in some areas.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe will have to discuss possible need for action together with the coalition parties and the security authorities,\u201d she said<\/a>.<\/p>\n Germany\u2019s former health minister Karl Lauterbach, who spearheaded the government\u2019s legalization plan, responded to the report, saying \u201ccannabis consumption among young people continues to decline despite legalization.\u201d<\/p>\n Der Cannabiskonsum bei Jugendlichen geht trotz Legalisierung offenbar weiter zur\u00fcck. Das war zu erwarten, auch andere L\u00e4nder zeigen das. Wenn man den Schwarzmarkt bek\u00e4mpfen will darf man Anbauclubs nicht weiter behindern. Cannabiskonsum ist kein Verbrechen https:\/\/t.co\/fMPUUz2ypv<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Prof. Karl Lauterbach (@Karl_Lauterbach) September 29, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n \u201cThat was to be expected; other countries are showing the same trend,\u201d he said. \u201cIf one wants to combat the black market, cultivation clubs must not be further obstructed. Cannabis consumption is not a crime.\u201d<\/p>\n Former MP Kristine L\u00fctke, who was one of the most vocal champions of legalization, said the report shows \u201cthere is no urgent need for action.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cParticularly encouraging: children and adolescents are not consuming cannabis more frequently than before partial legalization. The trend is rather declining,\u201d she said<\/a>.<\/p>\n A final report on the impact of legalization in Germany is expected in April 2028.<\/p>\n Germany\u2019s legalization law took effect<\/a> in April 2024, allowing adults to possess and grow certain amounts of cannabis and social clubs began to open, providing members with legal access to marijuana products<\/a>.<\/p>\n Following a pivotal national election earlier this year, political parties that were cooperating to form a new coalition government announced that they would be conducting an \u201copen-ended evaluation\u201d of the country\u2019s marijuana legalization law<\/a>\u2014meaning that at least for now, officials will allow the policy to stay in place.<\/p>\n \u2014 In December, the federal minister for food and agriculture signed off on a plan to\u00a0allow for research-focused commercial marijuana pilot programs<\/a>\u00a0to test legal and regulated access to cannabis for consumers.<\/p>\n At the local level, the city of Frankfurt late last year announced plans to move forward with a\u00a0five-year pilot program that would make cannabis products available to adults more broadly<\/a>\u00a0, with the city of Hanford also pursuing a similar plan. A number of other localities have also\u00a0\u00a0expressed interest<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0in conducting cannabis sales pilot projects.<\/p>\n Despite widespread concern that results of February\u2019s election could spell doom for the legalization law, most Germans\u2014\u00a059 percent of eligible voters<\/a>\u00a0\u2014support allowing adults to purchase cannabis from licensed stores.<\/p>\n For the previous three years Germans were polled on the issue, support sat at just under 50 percent. But as the country\u2019s marijuana law began being implemented last year, there was a spike in favor of the policy change.<\/p>\n Notably, respondents who identified as CDU or CSU\u2014two of the three coalition parties behind the new agreement\u2014were the only political affiliations among which majorities of voters supported rolling back the reform law.<\/p>\n German officials last year convened an international conference where leaders were invited to\u00a0share their experiences with legalizing and regulating marijuana<\/a>\u00a0, with a focus on public health and mitigating the illicit market.<\/p>\n Representatives from Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic and Switzerland were invited by German Commissioner for Addiction and Drug Issues Burkhard Blienert to the meeting in Berlin.<\/p>\n The countries that participated in the ministerial have varying cannabis policies. Malta, for example,\u00a0\u00a0became the first European country to enact cannabis legalization<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0in 2021. Luxembourg followed suit, with\u00a0\u00a0the reform officially taking effect in 2023<\/a>\u00a0.<\/p>\n Government officials from several countries, including the U.S., also met in Germany in 2023 to\u00a0discuss international marijuana policy issues<\/a>\u00a0as the host nation worked to enact legalization.<\/p>\n A group of German lawmakers, as well as Blienert, separately\u00a0\u00a0visited the US and toured California cannabis businesses<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0in 2022 to inform their country\u2019s approach to legalization.<\/p>\n The visit came after top officials from Germany, Luxembourg, Malta and the Netherlands\u00a0\u00a0held their first-of-its-kind meeting to discuss plans and challenges<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0associated with recreational marijuana legalization in 2022.<\/p>\n The post German Government Report Shows Marijuana Legalization Hasn\u2019t Increased Youth Use Or Traffic Accidents<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n
German officials have released a report on the impact of the nation\u2019s marijuana legalization law, finding that fears from opponents about youth use, traffic safety and more have so far proved largely unfounded. However, the illicit market has not meaningfully diminished under the limited legal regulatory model that has beenContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":458,"featured_media":83606,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[18,81],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83605"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/458"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=83605"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83605\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":83607,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83605\/revisions\/83607"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/83606"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=83605"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=83605"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=83605"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n\n
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