Forschung in Bayern

Carlotta Riemerschmid| Larissa Schwarzkopf | Eva Hoch

Abstract

Background and Aims: With the introduction of the German Cannabis Act (CanG) in
April 2024, cannabis use was partially legalized in Germany. This study investigated
immediate trends following this policy shift in treatment-seeking for cannabis use disorders
(CUD) in the German outpatient addiction care system.

Method: Data were obtained from the German Addiction Statistical Service (DSHS),
Germany’s national monitoring system for addiction-related treatment demand. We analyzed
meta-aggregated datasets for two pre-legalization years (2022, 20 223) and one
post- legalization year (April–December 2024), focusing on care episodes with a primary
CUD diagnosis (International Classification of Diseases 10th Revision codes F12.1/F12.2).
Annual facility-level rates were calculated for admissions and key treatment characteristics.
Year-to-year differences were assessed using rate ratios (RR) with 95% confidence
intervals (CI), adjusting for multiple testing.

Results: CUD-related admissions per facility increased from 29.0 cases in 2022 to 30.0
cases in 2023 (RR = 1.03, 95% CI: 1.02–1.05) followed by a decline to 25.6 cases in
2024 (RR = 0.85, 95% CI: 0.84–0.87). The number of female clients remained stable
(≈5.5 cases per facility), whereas male admissions declined from 23.9 in 2023 to 19.8 in
2024 (RR = 0.83, 95% CI: 0.81–0.84). Admissions among clients aged under 25 years
decreased from 15.1 to 11.4 per facility between 2023 and 2024 (RR = 0.76, 95% CI:
0.0.74–0.78). Similar downward trends were observed for first-time admissions, referrals
through the legal system and legal obligations to admissions.

Conclusions: First nation-wide monitoring data in Germany demonstrate a decline in
cannabis use disorder-related outpatient addiction care seeking following the introduction
of the German Cannabis Act, which may indicate that established ways of reaching
young at-risk populations is no longer functioning effectively.

Journal: Addiction | 2026

[Zur Originalpublikation]