Cannabis statistics, facts, figures and studies 2022/2023

Are you looking for current cannabis statistics from scientific studies? Then you've come to the right place. In the public discussion about the legalization of cannabis (hemp, marijuana, weed or hash), the only position is usually YES LEGALIZE and NO PROHIBIT. However, a clear and well-founded answer requires data, figures and facts about cannabis.

That's why I'm presenting the most significant statistics on the use, effects and future of the cannabis plant from worldwide studies.

Here is another short Table of contents about this statistics article:

1. Consumption
2. Effect
3. Medicine
4. Studies
5. Closing words

Differences: Cannabis is the more commonly used term, but is actually just the Latin word for Hemp. Marijuana and Grass are the dried female hemp flowers. Hash respectively Hashish refers to the pressed resin of the hemp plant.₁ This basically refers to the cannabis plant and includes the other names.

Facts and statistics about cannabis use

Here I have compiled some valuable data on the use of cannabis.

How many people use cannabis?

• In 2014, 181.8 million people worldwide between the ages of 15 and 64 used cannabis for non-medical reasons.₂
• In 2018, around 3.7 million people in Germany (7.1 percent of the population) between the ages of 18 and 64 had used cannabis, marijuana, hash, hemp or weed at least once in the last 12 months.₃
• Around 22% of 18 to 25-year-olds stated that they had used cannabis at least once in 2018. In 2016 it was 16.8 percent and in 2008 only 11.6 percent.₄
• In the USA, the use, possession and sale of cannabis is prohibited by federal law. Nevertheless, eleven American states have so far legalized cannabis as an intoxicant for people aged 21 and over.₅ Sales in the legal cannabis market in the USA amounted to 7.97 billion US dollars in 2017.₆

How many people are addicted to cannabis?

• Worldwide, 13.1 million people are considered dependent on cannabis.₇

How many people are for and against the legalization of cannabis in Germany?

• Result of a representative survey: 58 percent of respondents "tended to disagree" that cannabis should be legally available and regulated for adults. 39 percent of respondents "tended to agree".₈
• 49 percent of 18 to 64-year-olds can imagine using medicinal cannabis as a treatment.₉

How much cannabis is sold or purchased each year?

• In 2016, the police in Germany recorded 31,295 cases of illegal cannabis trafficking and seized 7.8 tons of cannabis. In 2013, by comparison, there were 26,807 registered cases involving 6.6 tons of cannabis.₁₀

Notice: This is data from recorded police cases. The number of unreported cases of illegal cannabis trafficking is therefore much higher.

Facts & figures about the effects of cannabis, marijuana and hemp

Here I would like to give you some scientific data on the effects of marijuana and cannabis:

• The female cannabis plant contains at least 750 chemical cannabinoids and 104 cannabinoids with other effects.₁₁
• Smoking marijuana and the "vaporization" form of consumption lead to a very high concentration of THC in the blood, which can be measured after 15-20 minutes and drops again after approx. two to three hours.₁₂
• For people using cannabis for the first time, the risk of dependence is 1:10, with daily use at 1:3.₁₃
• According to a study, you should be fit to drive again around 3 hours after consuming cannabis.₁₄

Statistics and data on cannabis in medicine

Cannabis is naturally used in medicine. Here are some facts and figures:

• In mid-2018, 14,000 patients in Germany were being treated with medicines containing cannabis.₁₅
• A total of 7,600 applications for medical cannabis were submitted to the AOK in 2017. Barmer received 3,200 applications and Techniker Krankenkasse 2,200 applications.₁₆
• The main reason for prescribing cannabis medicines in Germany is pain in 68.3 percent of cases. Remaining data: Anorexia/ wasting (15.1 percent), spasticity (8.3 percent), nausea/vomiting (6.0 percent), other (3 percent).₁₇

How many people die from cannabis?

• There are no known deaths from cannabis.
• By comparison, alcohol is proven to kill around 74,000 people in Germany every year.₁₈ Alcohol is even responsible for around 3 million deaths worldwide every year.₁₉

Studies on cannabis, marijuana and hemp

Still not enough facts about cannabis? Then I have a small list for you where you will find even more figures. Here are the scientific studies on cannabis that I used for this statistics article:

• Use of alcohol, tobacco, illegal drugs and medication. Estimates of consumption and substance-related disorders in Germany, German Medical Journal International, 2019.
• Cannabis use among adolescents and young adults in Germany 2018, Federal Center for Health Education, 2018.
• The health and social effects of nonmedical cannabis use, World Health Organization., 2016.
• The adverse health effects and harms related to marijuana use, The Department of Community Health Sciences & O'Brien Institute for Public Health, 2018.
• On the impact of cannabis consumption on traffic safety: a driving simulator study with habitual cannabis consumers., Tank A, Tietz T, Daldrup T, Schwender H, Hellen F, Ritz-Timme S, Hartung B., 2019.

Using statistics about cannabis

I hope you've found the facts and figures about cannabis (or hemp, hashish, marijuana and weed) here to give you a clear picture in the debate about legalizing the plant. Use the statistics to support your point of view.

Do you have any questions, additions or suggestions about the statistics on cannabis? Then please leave a comment.

Stay sustainable

PS.: Under Statistics I have collected a whole series of other similar articles. You might also be interested in the article about Veganism facts and figures or Plastic waste statistics.

If you use figures from this post, please cite the following line as the source. Thank you for your support!

https://www.careelite.de/cannabis-statistiken-fakten/

References

₁ German Hemp Association: What is the difference between hemp, cannabis, hashish and marijuana? (available at https://hanfverband.de/faq/was-ist-der-unterschied-zwischen-hanf-cannabis-haschisch-und-marihuana. [07.11.2019].

₂,₇ WHO (2016): The health and social effects of nonmedical cannabis use, available at https://www.who.int/substance_abuse/publications/cannabis/en. [08.11.2019].

₃ German Hemp Association: How many people consume cannabis in Germany?, available at https://hanfverband.de/faq/wie-viele-menschen-konsumieren-in-deutschland-cannabis. [07.11.2019].

₄ Norddeutscher Rundfunk (2019): More and more young people are smoking pot (as of 24.06.2019), available at https://www.tagesschau.de/inland/cannabis-151.html. [07.11.2019].

₅ Wikipedia: Legal status of cannabis use in the United States, available at https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rechtliche_Stellung_des_Cannabisgebrauchs_in_den_USA. [07.11.2019].

₆ Statista GmbH (2018): Volume of the legal cannabis market in the USA in the years 2016 to 2025 (as of 05.06.2018), available at https://de.statista.com/statistik/daten/studie/745052/umfrage/volumen-des-legalen-cannabismarktes-in-den-usa. [07.11.2019].

₈ Statista GmbH (2018): Medical cannabis in Germany (as at: 30.11.2018), available at https://de.statista.com/infografik/9533/verwendung-von-medizinischem-cannabis-in-deutschland. [07.11.2019].

₉ Statista GmbH (2019): Germans open-minded about medical cannabis (as of 23/09/2019), available at https://de.statista.com/infografik/19433/zustimmung-zu-statements-bezueglich-aerztlich-verschriebenem-medizinischem-cannabis. [07.11.2019].

₁₀ Statista GmbH (2018): Medical cannabis in Germany (as at: 06.02.2018), available at https://de.statista.com/infografik/12803/illegaler-cannabis-handel-in-deutschland/. [07.11.2019].

₁₁ WHO (2016): The health and social effects of nonmedical cannabis use, 2016, p.2.

₁₂,₁₃ Drug Commissioner of the Federal Government (2016): Current WHO study on cannabis use, available at https://www.drogenbeauftragte.de/presse/pressekontakt-und-mitteilungen/archiv/2016/2016-2-quatarl/aktuelle-who-studie-zum-thema-cannabiskonsum.html. [07.11.2019].

₁₄ A. Tank, T. Tietz, T. Daldrup, et al. (2019): On the impact of cannabis consumption on traffic safety: a driving simulator study with habitual cannabis consumers, available at https://www.cannabis-med.org/studies/ww_en_db_study_show.php?s_id=826. [07.11.2019].

₁₅,₁₇ Statista GmbH (2018): Medical cannabis in Germany (as at: 30.11.2018), available at https://de.statista.com/infografik/9533/verwendung-von-medizinischem-cannabis-in-deutschland. [07.11.2019].

₁₆ Statista GmbH (2018): Medical cannabis in Germany (as at: 30.11.2018), available at https://de.statista.com/statistik/daten/studie/795655/umfrage/antraege-fuer-medizinisches-cannabis-bei-deutschen-krankenkassen. [07.11.2019].

₁₈ Deutsche Hauptstelle für Suchtfragen (DHS) e.V.: Facts and figures, available at https://www.aktionswoche-alkohol.de/presse/fakten-mythen/zahlen-und-fakten. [07.11.2019].

₁₉ German Medical Association (2018): Three million deaths caused by alcohol every year (as of 21/09/2018), available at https://www.aerzteblatt.de/nachrichten/98062/Drei-Millionen-Todesfaelle-jaehrlich-durch-Alkohol. [07.11.2019].