Germany: researchers hope to find 25,000 weed smokers for a study

A German research project hopes to obtain government approval to recruit 25,000 cannabis users in Berlin.

The group called Research Project on Cannabis Use hopes to have its proposal approved for a new study aimed at analyzing the «effects of cannabis on adult, psychologically healthy users.» The goal is to understand the long-term effects of cannabis use over several years. The group was founded by a Berlin-based lawyer and a professor of clinical psychology at the Hamburg Medical School.

The project submitted an application to the Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices (BfArM) last week. This institute also oversees the’German Cannabis Agency. He has not yet made any statement regarding the project's chances of getting off the ground.

L’Germany has officially legalized cannabis for medical purposes at the beginning of the year, and allows doctors to prescribe medical cannabis to their patients if they believe it can have positive effects.

This study will focus more on the effects of recreational cannabis use, which remains illegal in Germany.

So far, 2,000 people have signed up to participate in the study. The selection criteria state that individuals under the age of 18, first-time users, and those with addictions or psychiatric problems are not eligible to participate in the study.

If the study is approved, participants will be given 30 grams of cannabis—which is usually reserved for medical patients—per month.

«In Germany, several million people use cannabis regularly,» explains Marko Dörre, the lawyer behind the project. «It’s time for science to take a closer look at recreational use.».

Cannabis is the most commonly used illegal drug in Germany, with 7.3% of adolescents and 6.1% of adults reporting that they had used it at least once in 2015, according to a recent report from the German Center for Addiction Issues (DHS).

Until the recent legalization of medical cannabis, only a few people—about 1,000—had been granted the right to use cannabis for medical purposes.

The new medical regulatory system also allows the government to rely on real-world data to study the therapeutic use of cannabis.