Health insurance
Triple the number of cannabis treatments
According to the health insurance company KKH, treatments for cannabis have tripled in the last ten years. photo
© Sebastian Gollnow/dpa
Since April 1st, cannabis has been legal for adults under certain conditions. According to an evaluation by the health insurance company KKH, health problems caused by consumption have increased in recent years.
The number of people as a result of According to the Kaufmännische Krankenkasse (KKH), the number of times people have had to see a doctor because of health problems has more than tripled in the past ten years.
The number of people insured by the fund who were treated on an outpatient basis because of acute intoxication, addiction, withdrawal symptoms or psychological problems due to cannabinoids was just under 1,300 cases in 2012, and around 4,000 cases in 2022. Extrapolated to the total population, this is an increase from 65,400 in 2012 to 209,000 cases in 2022, the KKH said.
In the 15 to 19 year old age group, the number of cases roughly doubled from an extrapolated 5,600 to around 11,300. Since only confirmed outpatient doctor diagnoses were included in the analysis, the number of unreported cases is likely to be higher, it said. For its analysis, the health insurance company evaluated the data of its 1.6 million insured persons with a view to the diagnosis code F12 “Mental and behavioral disorders caused by cannabinoids”.
The possession, consumption and cultivation of cannabis has been legal for adults since April 1st, subject to certain conditions.