Despite these limitations, survey-based cannabis use prevalence constitutes one of the best indicators available for public health monitoring purposes. In the 2021 European Drug Report, the EMCDDA focuses on cannabis use among young adults [2]. While we also found indications for increasing use in this age groups, our findings add that cannabis consumption has apparently become more common among 35 to 64 year-olds. Albeit absolute use levels remain lower in this age group, this is a trend worth noting. This trend could be driven by an aging population of users (i.e., growing out of cannabis use becomes less common) or by the increase in medical use of cannabis. Prescription data from Germany show that patients using cannabis flowers on prescription are on average 46 years old [60]. Another possibility, supported by data from the USA [61], is that the proportion of older adults who disapprove of cannabis use may have decreased over time.
