Background: Germany introduced a special mixture of cannabis decriminalization and part-legalization by the 1st of April 2024. It includes legal possession of up to 25 grams (50 grams at home), legal home cultivation of up to three plants, the introduction of cannabis social clubs and, as the first country in Europe, legal use in certain public areas.
Objectives: How was cannabis legalization reflected in the German public, media and politics and how did the process affect use, procurement, opinions and other aspects among (potential) cannabis users?
Methods: By the time of the presentation, first official results of the evaluation of the law will be published, reflecting criminal statistics, representative data on use and other factors. Other sources of information include a local representative school survey, several opinion polls, media coverage and information from policy stakeholders.
Results: Shortly after legalization was introduced, there was strong evidence that home cultivation will become a major factor in sources of procurement. Since the laws for medicinal cannabis use were also loosened, private prescriptions became another major legal source, while cannabis social clubs are still restricted to relatively few users because of the strict regulations. Policy discussions have continued, and by the time of the conference, it will be clear whether some of the regulations will be whether some of the regulations will be rolled back again under the new government.
Implications: With mainly non-commercial options for cannabis procurement, Germany chose a unique way to set up a legalization process. It is of great interest to see how use and supply will develop in the future and to what extent a new government will be able to reverse liberalisation.

Background
Tobacco use remains “one of the biggest public health threats” [1] in the world. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), smoking tobacco is responsible for over 8 million deaths a year [1]. However, smoking prevalence is not evenly distributed across all groups but is particularly high among marginalized and vulnerable populations [3].

Objectives
Even though it is not a new insight that smoking is particularly prevalent among marginalized and vulnerable groups, these very groups are not effectively reached by existing tobacco control policies. The aim of the presentation is therefore to present approaches to tobacco control policies that can also reach marginalized groups.

Methods
Based on a narrative, selective literature review, programs and strategies of tobacco control policies are presented that have proven effective in reaching smokers from marginalized populations.

Implications
One important concept that has proven effective in reaching marginalized groups in many countries is Tobacco Harm Reduction. This presentation aims to provide food for thought for a rethinking of drug policy regarding smoking. A change is necessary to reach equality in drug policy.

Literature
[1] World Health Organization. WHO report on the global tobacco epidemic, 2023. Geneva: 2023.
[2] European Commission. Special Eurobarometer 506: Attitudes of Europeans towards tobacco and electronic cigarettes: report. 2021.
[3] Hiscock R, Bauld L, Amos A, Fidler JA, Munafò M. Socioeconomic status and smoking: a review. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 2012;1248:107–23. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1749-6632.2011.06202.x.