Overview
- Ekocan’s second interim report, released Wednesday, finds no detectable surge in cannabis use since the April 2024 law, with adult use following a slow pre‑existing rise and teen use holding steady or edging down.
- Researchers say a growing share of consumption now comes from legal sources such as home growing and pharmacies, and they see signs the illegal market is being slowly displaced, while the effect on organized crime remains unclear.
- Germany became Europe’s largest legal‑commercial medical cannabis market with about 200 tonnes imported in 2025, and the study warns that widely prescribed high‑THC products, averaging around 25 percent, raise mental‑health risks and merit THC caps.
- Referrals of teens to early‑intervention and counseling programs have fallen because authorities seldom mandate participation after decriminalization, even as surveys show risk perception among 15‑ to 17‑year‑olds has not dropped.
- A survey of more than 2,000 criminal police indicates enforcement against illicit dealers has grown harder, and CDU/CSU ministers now push to curb online prescribing and shipping, which experts warn could drive consumers back to illegal sellers unless regulated clubs scale up.