Government ministers from Germany’s conservative CDU and CSU on Wednesday urged changes to the partial cannabis legalization introduced in 2024, following publication of a two-year report on the law’s effects.
What conservative ministers said about the report
Health Minister Nina Warken (CDU) called the reform a mistake, saying “early interventions designed to dissuade children and young people from consumption are falling sharply in numbers” and complaining of a “blurry boundary between cannabis for recreational consumption and cannabis for purely medicinal purposes.”
Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt (CSU) described the law as “a complete nonstarter” and said law enforcement’s concerns were not adequately considered, alleging the black market is booming and criminality is rising. Family Minister Karin Prien (CDU) said fewer children are taking part in addiction prevention courses because authorities can no longer as easily require attendance.
What the report found
The report, produced by researchers at Tübingen University, Düsseldorf’s university clinic and the Hamburg-Eppendorf university clinic, reached mixed conclusions. It found only a moderate increase in usage statistics since legalization, reflecting pre-existing trends: falling consumption among young people and slowly rising use among older adults. The authors concluded “an increase in consumption that can be tied to the reform is not recognizable at this point in time.”
The study confirmed a drop in early interventions for children and logged police complaints about difficulties combating illegal cannabis trafficking under the new rules.
Sharp increase in medical prescriptions
The report highlighted a sharp rise in demand for medicinal cannabis via pharmacies with doctors’ referrals—up around 198% since 2024. Researchers warned that high-THC medical marijuana appears to be prescribed more often than medically necessary, raising mental health and other medical risks. They also warned it is hard to tell whether illegal groups are involved in importing nominally medical cannabis and suggested Germany could be becoming a distribution hub.
Researchers suggested that slow approvals of so-called “cannabis clubs”—organizations permitted to grow and distribute recreational cannabis to members—may be behind overprescribing of stronger strains. To date, the report said, “only very few [cannabis] cultivation organizations have been approved,” leaving demand unmet. The report argued that strengthening cultivation organizations could accelerate a reduction of the black market.
Legal status for medical and recreational cannabis
Medical marijuana has been legally available under certain conditions in Germany since 2017, typically requiring a doctor’s referral. In April 2024 a law partially legalizing recreational cannabis for adults was introduced. It allows people over 18 to possess up to 50 grams at home and up to 25 grams in public, and to grow up to two cannabis plants. Minors are not permitted to carry or grow the plant.
The law does not authorize public sales in “coffeeshops” like those in the Netherlands. Instead, adults who do not grow their own must join a cannabis cultivation club, pay membership fees, and receive cannabis grown by the club.
Coalition politics and next steps
When the CDU/CSU entered government with the Social Democrats, the parties disagreed on how to proceed and deferred decisions. Their coalition agreement committed them to an impartial evaluation of the new laws and to decide on next steps afterwards. An interim report was filed last August; a concluding report is scheduled for publication two years from now, four years after the law took effect.
Edited by: Alex Berry