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.