Using less lowers the risks. According to drugcom, daily or almost daily use over a longer period can harm your health. The recommendations for lower-risk use that drugcom draws on advise using no more than once or twice a week.
According to drugcom, a few steps help to make this work:
- a clear, measurable goal: not “smoke less weed”, but, for example, only on two fixed days a week
- knowing your triggers: in which situations and for what reasons do you smoke weed? You need a plan for those moments.
- a use diary: for the first four weeks, write down every day what worked and what did not
Cutting down is not easier than stopping. According to drugcom, it requires “more willpower and discipline than quitting”, because every exception can lead back into the old pattern. Relapses are normal and no reason to give up on the goal.
Support is available free of charge and anonymously: in the online programme Quit the Shit (in German), you keep a use diary for four weeks, accompanied by a counselling team. Whether you want to use less or stop is up to you. The self-test shows you beforehand where you stand with your use.
If cutting down does not work over several weeks, that is a sign to take a closer look. Then a break or a talk at a counselling service is the next step.
Remember: A clear goal and fixed days without cannabis help more than the intention to somehow smoke less weed.
More on this: Taking a break · What is tolerance? · Finding help
Sources
- drugcom.de (BIÖG): Den Cannabisausstieg richtig angehen (feature, December 2024)
- drugcom.de (BIÖG): Welche Safer-Use-Empfehlungen für weniger schädlichen Cannabiskonsum gibt es (für Erwachsene)? (as of July 2025)
- Quit the Shit (drugcom.de, BIÖG): online programme for cutting down or stopping (in German)