Study: Legalizing cannabis is not an economic stimulus package for dealers

Frankfurt/Main. Following its partial legalization, critics of cannabis consumption predicted a surge in demand, primarily in favor of the black market. However, the opposite appears to be the case, according to a recent online survey of over 11,000 German citizens who regularly use marijuana. The non-representative survey conducted by the Institute for Addiction Research at the Frankfurt University of Applied Sciences and the Evangelical University of Freiburg shows "significant shifts" in favor of legal sources. The cannabis law is "already a success in weakening the illegal market," study leader Bernd Werse was quoted as saying in a university press release on Friday.

According to the survey, "the majority of respondents grow cannabis themselves or obtain it with a prescription from pharmacies." 88 percent reported obtaining their hashish "primarily from a fundamentally legal source" in the past six months – the survey was conducted from the end of March to the beginning of June of this year. Before the Cannabis Act came into force (on April 1, 2024), only 24 percent reported using "one of the now legalized options as their primary source." This also includes cannabis cultivation associations, of which, according to media reports, only around 300 have received an official license as of July.

Fears that cannabis users might attract excessive attention in public spaces also appear to be unfounded. "Most respondents consume in private; almost all cite their own property as one of their consumption locations," reports Freiburg social psychologist Professor Anke Stallwitz. Only just under half also mention public spaces. Only the few young people among the respondents (0.8 percent 14- to 18-year-olds) were "significantly more likely" to answer the question of getting high outside of their home. (cw)