One of the major goals of cannabis policy modernization in Germany in recent years is to combat the unregulated market in the European country. A main motivator behind the goal is to boost public health outcomes in Germany by getting patients and consumers to obtain their cannabis from legal sources rather than from unregulated sources.

According to the results of a recent survey conducted by the Institute for Addiction Research at the Frankfurt University of Applied Sciences and the Evangelical University of Freiburg, the policy change appears to be working.

The survey, which is part of the “Changes for Cannabis Consumers due to the Cannabis Act” (“KonCanG”) project (translated from German to English), involved posing various questions about cannabis activity to 11,471 participants, of whom 11,375 reported that they are adults, and the remaining 96 participants reported that they are ‘adolescents’.

“97.8% of respondents consume on their own property, while young people consume significantly more often in public spaces.” the researchers stated in their ‘key findings’ section of their report.

“The Cannabis Act (CanG) led to significant changes in the supply channels among adults: 88.4% generally purchased legally produced cannabis in the last six months (home cultivation, including cultivation by friends, cultivation associations, pharmacies); before the law, 23.5% used the now legal sources.” the report also stated.

In April 2024, lawmakers in Germany enacted the historic CanG law that permits adults in Germany to cultivate up to 3 plants in their private residences, possess up to 50 grams of cannabis in their residences (and 25 grams in public), and, as of July 1st, 2024, join one of the nation’s licensed cultivation associations.

The CanG law also removed cannabis from Germany’s Narcotics List, which has resulted in significantly more medical cannabis patients being approved to make legal purchases from regulated medical cannabis pharmacies.

“Since the introduction of the CanG, the share of home cultivation and pharmacy sales has increased; together, almost 80% report one of these two categories as their primary source. Mostly men (90.1%) have started home cultivation since the CanG.” the survey found.

“At the same time, the purchase of cannabis from dealers, both in private spaces and in public, declined significantly.” the survey also found.

Germany still needs significantly more cultivation associations to be approved and launch their operations, and pilot trials must be permitted to proceed. Both of those components of Germany’s legalization model will provide consumers and patients with more legal options for sourcing their products, which will further combat Germany’s unregulated cannabis market.