ReviewThe Lancet regional health. Europe2024
Germany's cannabis act: a catalyst for European drug policy reform?
Review in The Lancet regional health. Europe, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 15 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
15 citing papers in PubMed.
- Regulation and Use of Cannabidiol in Croatia Compared with Selected European and International Models: From Consumer Products to Clinical Practice.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Review
- Increase in Cannabis-Specific Hospital Admissions After Partial Legalization in Germany: A Nationwide Time-Series Analysis.Deutsches Arzteblatt international · 2026Observational
- International Policy Approaches for Higher THC Cannabis Products: Are They Applicable to the Australian Medicinal Cannabis Framework?Drug and alcohol review · 2026Review
- Short-term effects of cannabis legalisation in Germany on driving under the influence of cannabis: a difference-in-differences analysis using Austria as a control.The Lancet regional health. Europe · 2026Article
- A 2025 Nationwide Cross-Sectional Survey on Public Attitudes Toward the Legalization and Depenalization of Recreational Cannabis in Poland.Medical science monitor : international medical journal of experimental and clinical research · 2026Article
- Attitudes and expectations of primary care physicians regarding recreational cannabis legalization in Germany: a pre-implementation survey.Journal of cannabis research · 2025Article
- Cannabis Consumption Before and After Partial Legalization in Germany: Early Trends, Consumption Patterns, and Motives.Deutsches Arzteblatt international · 2025Article
- What proportion of people who use cannabis in Germany have spoken with their general practitioner about their consumption? A repeated cross-sectional representative population survey.Journal of cannabis research · 2025Article
- High acceptance and reported efficacy of cannabis for pain management in patients with rheumatic diseases in Germany: a postlegalisation survey.EULAR rheumatology open · 2025Article
- "Those pot heads" - perceived external stigma and self-stigma among cannabis users in Germany: prevalence and associations with socio-demographics, cannabis use patterns and psychological distress.Journal of cannabis research · 2025Article
- Cannabinoids in Chronic Pain: Clinical Outcomes, Adverse Effects and Legal Challenges.Neurology international · 2025Review
- Population-based estimates of different dosage types of psychedelic use across socio-demographic groups in Germany.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Predictors of medical and non-medical motives of cannabis use in Finland: A cross-sectional survey study.iScience · 2025Article
- Cannabinoids in Chronic Pain Management: A Review of the History, Efficacy, Applications, and Risks.Biomedicines · 2025Review
- What do patients with substance use disorders know about their medication? A cross-sectional interview-based study.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
With the enforcement of the Cannabis Act on 1 April 2024, Germany has adopted one of the most liberal legal approaches to cannabis on the continent. The German model prioritises a non-profit approach and precludes legal market mechanisms. We believe these are the main drivers for increasing cannabis use and related health problems, based on observations following cannabis legalisation in Canada and many states in the U.S. Although legalising cannabis possession and cultivation may not immediately eliminate the illegal market, it is expected to serve public health goals. Despite the overall positive evaluation of the Cannabis Act in Germany, there are three potential areas of concern: the potential for misuse of the medical system, the normalization of cannabis use, and the influence of the cannabis industry. The German model may herald the beginning of a new generation of European cannabis policies, but concerted efforts will be required to ensure that these policy reforms serve rather than undermine public health goals.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.