Study: Almost half of young adults have tried cannabis
The number has significantly increased in the past few years. It was still 35.9 percent of young adults who reported this in 2014. In 2004, it was 42.9 percent. However, the numbers were significantly lower among adolescents between the ages of 12 and 17 who were also surveyed. Only 8.3 percent reported having tried cannabis. This was fewer than in 2014 with 8.9 percent and significantly fewer than in 2004 with 15.1 percent.
Federal Drug Commissioner Burkhard Blienert (SPD) explained that it was good that the majority of young people do not consume cannabis. "They know better than many adults what is risky and harmful."
Young people and young adults are significantly more endangered by the consumption of cannabis than older adults, added the Commissioner for the Federal Center for Health Education (BZgA) Johannes Nießen. After all, important development and restructuring processes take place in the brain during the transition from childhood to adulthood. "These can be influenced by the consumption of cannabis, and it can lead to memory and concentration disorders, for example." Someone who consumes it frequently can also develop an addiction.
For the representative study, 7001 young people between the ages of 12 and 25 were surveyed in the period April to June 2023. The BZgA regularly investigates the consumption of youths and young adults in Germany.
- Half of the young adults surveyed in Cologne, in the representative study conducted in April to June 2023, reported not having tried cannabis.
- Almost every adult partaking in the study conducted by the Federal Center for Health Education (BZgA) was older than 18, and the results showed a higher prevalence of cannabis use in this group compared to adolescents.
- The study revealed that, unlike young adults, only a small percentage of 12-17-year-olds in Cologne, or almost nobody, reported trying cannabis.
