Cannabis Use in Germany

The federal government of Germany is planning to liberalize the recreational cannabis market for adults. We aimed to collect key baseline data on frequency of use, routes of administration, and co-use of cannabis and inhaled nicotine or tobacco products in the population.

Based on data from a national survey of 9644 people aged >14 years, we analyzed self-reported use of cannabis in the past 12 months and preferred route of administration (single choice: smoked with tobacco; smoked without tobacco; inhaled without tobacco; consumed with food; consumed in another form).

The prevalence of past-year cannabis use was 4.6% (95% CI [4,2; 5,1%]), with higher rates among 14-24- (11.4%) and 25-39-year-olds (8.2%) as well as among co-users of inhaled nicotine or tobacco products, particularly waterpipe users (27.0%). Smoking cannabis with or without tobacco was the preferred route of administration, reported by 92.4% (95% CI [89,6; 94,6%]). It was most frequently reported by 14-24-year-olds and by co-users of inhaled nicotine or tobacco products.

Smoking remains the predominant form of using cannabis-especially among younger users, who are at greatest risk of cannabis-related consequences. The true prevalence of cannabis use may have been underestimated in our study, however, as not all participants answered the questions on cannabis. Nevertheless, preventive and harm reduction efforts are needed to reduce the harm from using cannabis. Continuous monitoring is required to evaluate the effects of the forthcoming law changes in Germany.