Smartphone game aims to prevent cannabis use among young people

Since the partial legalisation of cannabis for adults in Germany in 2024, the protection of children and young people has come even more into focus. This is because cannabis use is associated with significant health risks, particularly during adolescence.

The German Centre for Prevention Research in Mental Health (DZPP) in Würzburg is now trialling a new approach to cannabis prevention amongst young people: it is developing X-CAN, a game designed for smartphones.

“With X-CAN, we want to reach young people where digital content is an integral part of their daily lives,” explains project leader Dr Stella Vieth from the DZPP. “Our aim is not only to convey scientifically sound prevention content, but also to embed it in an interactive story and link it to strategies that young people can apply in their everyday lives.”

Searching for Alex with a buddy

At the start of X-CAN, young people choose a character called Sam, who acts as their buddy and guides them through the game. Sam is worried about their mutual friend Alex: he has had hardly any contact with him for some time now.

Gradually, the players learn that Alex is neglecting his hobbies and commitments because of his cannabis use and is increasingly withdrawing from other people. Together with Sam, they try to find out what has happened and what support Alex needs.

The story is tailored to the young people’s everyday lives. For example, those who list sport as a hobby will encounter Alex as a talented young footballer whose cannabis use is increasingly jeopardising his sporting goals. Dialogues and short, graphic-novel-style videos recount his journey – from his first encounter with cannabis, through growing problems, to his visit to a counselling centre.

Young people aged between 13 and 17 wanted

We are still looking for young people aged between 13 and 17 to take part in the ongoing study. They will test X-CAN and take part in three to four interview sessions. The study is conducted entirely online. The follow-up surveys aim to show whether attitudes and behaviour regarding cannabis use change in the long term. Participants will receive an allowance of 40 euros for taking part. The data collected will be treated confidentially and in accordance with applicable data protection regulations. Those interested can submit their contact details via the X-CAN study website. The project team will answer any questions about the study at the email address x-can@ukw.de

Learning strategies to cope with emotional stress

Various prevention elements are incorporated into the game’s storyline. Young people receive information about cannabis and its risks, test their knowledge and learn ways to refuse offers to use cannabis or to cope with emotional stress.

Other elements include personalised strategies for regulating emotions, information on addiction support services, and a virtual simulation of a ‘bad trip’ – that is, paranoia induced by cannabis.

Minister Gerlach: “Strengthening health literacy”

Bavaria’s Minister for Health and Prevention, Judith Gerlach, said: “I am convinced that effective prevention must start early and reach people in their everyday lives. X-CAN is a good example of this: with X-CAN, we aim to use digital means to bring scientifically sound findings on cannabis prevention to young people, incorporating innovative elements such as gamification and virtual reality (VR). Such new approaches can make an important contribution to strengthening health literacy and supporting young people in making informed and self-determined decisions about their health. After all, cannabis is by no means a harmless drug.”

Study examines the effectiveness of X-CAN

Can X-CAN actually help to prevent or reduce cannabis use? This is currently being investigated through surveys of participants who have played through the game.

There are two versions of the game for the study: one is aimed at young people with mental health conditions such as ADHD or emotional instability who have not yet used cannabis. For this group, X-CAN is intended to help prevent them from starting to use cannabis. The second version is aimed at young people who have already used cannabis. It is designed to help them reduce their use.

“Digital prevention has the potential to reach young people in a low-threshold, location-independent way and on a large scale,” says Professor Marcel Romanos, Chair of the DZPP and Director of the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy at the UKW. According to him, it is crucial that such services are designed to be appealing and that their effectiveness can be scientifically proven.

State Ministry funds the project

The Bavarian State Ministry of Health, Care and Prevention is funding the project. Cooperation partners include the Bavarian State Office for Health and Food Safety (LGL) and the Chair of Clinical Epidemiology and Biometry (IKE-B) at the University of Würzburg.

The DZPP is jointly run by the University Hospital of Würzburg (UKW) and Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg (JMU). The centre also focuses on the prevention of anxiety disorders, depression, suicide and psychoses. It develops prevention programmes based on research, tests their effectiveness and then rolls them out on a wider scale.