Youth cannabis consumption in Germany has declined since the country legalised adult-use cannabis in April 2024, according to new research commissioned by the government.
The Federal Institute for Public Health’s “Drug Affinity Study 2025” found that cannabis use amongst teenagers aged 12-17 fell from 6.7% to 6.1% between 2023 and this year. Regular consumption, defined as more than ten uses in the past 12 months, also decreased from 1.3% to 1.1% over the same period.
The findings emerged from surveys of 7,001 young people aged 12-25 conducted between April and July 2025, with results compared to a similar study from 2023, before legalisation took effect.
Germany’s former health minister Karl Lauterbach, who spearheaded the legalisation effort, said on X that the results “confirm what the goal of legalisation was: through the debate about dangers for children and adolescents, their consumption does not increase or even decreases.”
“Nevertheless, the results still need to be confirmed,” he added. “Bans do not deter young people.”
Amongst young adults aged 18-25, the study recorded a modest increase in cannabis use, with past-year consumption rising from 23.3% to 25.6%. Regular use in this group increased from 8.0% to 8.9%, with the largest increase seen amongst young men, whose past-year use rose from 26.9% to 31.6%.
Johannes Nießen, acting director of the Federal Institute for Public Health, said: “Our data show that consumption amongst adolescents has not increased. However, consumption has risen slightly amongst young adults, particularly amongst men between 18 and 25 years of age. We must monitor this development very closely.”
The research supports arguments made by reform advocates who argue that providing a regulatory framework for cannabis helps protect young people by reducing their access to unregulated products, whilst enabling better education about potential harms.
Germany’s Cannabis Act (CanG) became law in April 2024, allowing adults to possess and cultivate limited amounts of cannabis and establishing a system of non-profit social clubs to distribute the drug to members. The legislation aimed to achieve three primary goals: youth protection, general health protection, and combating the unregulated market.
Recent studies suggest the policy is achieving its intended effects. Research by the Institute for Addiction Research at Frankfurt University of Applied Sciences found that almost 90% of German cannabis consumers now obtain their supply from legal sources, compared to just 23.5% before legalisation.
The findings align with international evidence from other jurisdictions that have ended cannabis prohibition. In Canada, government reports have shown that youth usage rates remained steady following legalisation in 2018. Similarly, analysis of US states with legal cannabis markets has found that teenage consumption either remained stable or declined in most jurisdictions.
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