Two years ago, on April 1, 2024, the law partially legalizing cannabis came into force. Ownership and home cultivation are generally legal, but resale, for example, is not. There was great excitement at the time, including in the country’s human resources departments. Contrary to some fears, cannabis consumption among 18 to 64 year olds has not risen sharply in the short term, as a new study by the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW Berlin) shows.
Recently, voices have repeatedly been raised in society and politics calling for a renewed ban on cannabis. “Initial studies after partial legalization do not indicate a significant increase in cannabis consumption,” says study author Anna Bindler, head of the Crime, Work and Inequality Department. The fact that there has been no significant increase due to or since partial legalization does not mean that consumption is fundamentally not increasing. It does this continuously and is therefore also relevant in the work context.
