Is occasional use risky too?

Yes, occasional cannabis use can also carry risks. How large they are depends, among other things, on age, on road traffic and on whether you also drink alcohol. The Bundesinstitut für Öffentliche Gesundheit (BIÖG) warns in particular about the consequences for young people and about a higher risk of psychosis. Drugcom describes psychological dependence for regular use. This article classifies these statements and shows how to limit use consciously in everyday life.

What the psychosis risk means

BIÖG writes that people who smoke cannabis get psychosis more often than people who do not. A psychosis is a serious mental illness in which the perception of reality can be disturbed. According to drugcom, the risk of psychosis rises with the intensity of use. BIÖG describes the link statistically, and this is not proof that cannabis causes it. No age or quantity is named below which the risk safely disappears.

This is no reason for panic, yet it is a reason for attention. If you notice changes in thinking, experience or behaviour in yourself or others that worry you, have them clarified by a doctor promptly. Do not wait until it settles on its own.

Why age and development matter

According to BIÖG, the young brain is in an important phase of development, and cannabis can influence that development. In the worst case, the school or vocational qualification is at risk, because memory works much worse. Drugcom writes that there is convincing evidence that an early start in use has lasting impairments on cognitive performance.

Anyone still at school or in training should therefore not regard use as insignificant. Whether and how this affects your own case cannot be predicted. More on age and the brain can be found in the article Does cannabis harm the young brain?.

Regular use and dependence

The dependence statement from drugcom refers to regular use. There it says that psychological dependence can develop with long-term use. In addition, BIÖG states that roughly one in eight people who use cannabis becomes dependent. BIÖG writes that whoever takes a single puff from a joint does not become dependent immediately. The risk increases, though, if you use once or several times a week. No fixed frequency from which a problem arises is named.

That is why your own observation helps. If use becomes more regular, the gaps between use days get shorter or you use more often alone, a closer look is worthwhile. The article When is cannabis use problematic? explains the difference between habit and problem.

Road traffic: clear limits

In road traffic, fixed legal limits apply. Anyone who drives a motor vehicle with 3.5 ng/ml or more THC in blood serum commits a regulatory offence under section 24a(1a) StVG. The fine range follows from section 24a(3) StVG. If a fine is imposed, a driving ban generally also has to be ordered (section 25(1) StVG). Anyone who takes a medicine as prescribed is exempt under section 24a(4) StVG. A separate prohibition applies during the probationary period and for drivers under 21 (section 24c StVG).

If alcohol is added to a journey under subsection (1a), that is, drinking alcohol or starting the journey under the influence of alcohol, a separate offence exists under section 24a(2a) StVG. The fine range is higher than under subsection (1a) (section 24a(3) StVG). More on the combination is in the article What happens when cannabis and alcohol are consumed together?.

How to limit occasional use consciously

Using consciously means deciding in advance when and where you use, and when you do not. These points help in everyday life:

• Set fixed occasions and stick to them, even when friends suggest something else.
• Do not use before school, training, work or driving.
• Do not combine cannabis with alcohol or other substances.
• Plan days without use and keep to them.
• Speak with a trusted person if the limits are hard for you.

Also pay attention to your surroundings. Anyone who uses in a group where people smoke cannabis regularly has different occasions than someone who decides alone at home. The group sets the frame, and that frame can be changed. More on this is in the article “How does the circle of friends influence your own use?”.

Where to get advice

For questions about your own use, an addiction counselling service is the right point of contact. On drugcom.de you will find information and a self-test, the cannabis check. The Sucht & Drogen Hotline can be reached anonymously on 01806 313031 (calls are charged, daily from 8 am to midnight). Counselling services near you are listed in the Suchthilfeverzeichnis of the Deutsche Hauptstelle für Suchtfragen. A doctor clarifies physical complaints. For legal questions about road traffic, a specialist lawyer for traffic law (Fachanwalt für Verkehrsrecht) can help. How you assess whether you are dependent is shown in the article How can you tell for yourself whether you are dependent?.