Using schools for cannabis prevention-what we can learn from Canada

Background. In the discussions about the legalization of cannabis in Germany, the protection of children and adolescents is often used as an argument against legalization. In fact, adolescents in particular should be protected from early substance use. The aim of this article is to discuss how this can be achieved.Methods. Canada already legalized recreational cannabis use for adults in 2018. One of the aims of legalization was to protect young people from using cannabis. This article therefore shows how Canada deals with the issue of youth protection, focusing primarily on the context of schools, and what conclusions can be drawn from this for Germany.Conclusions. The example of Canada shows that school is a place that should be actively used to protect adolescents. Measures with regard to cannabis should go beyond exclusively abstinence-oriented, knowledge-based education programs. Accordingly, a holistic, universal multi-modal program consisting of upstream prevention, harm reduction, stigma reduction and equity-oriented approaches is required in order to provide the best possible protection for young people.