Background. Cannabis is the most widely used illicit substance in the whole Western world and rates are further rising. Almost 240.000 adult Germans fulfill DSM-IV criteria for cannabis dependence and 140.000 the criteria for cannabis abuse (past 12-month), respectively. Several studies have revealed a considerable degree of unmet needs for intervention and treatment for cannabis disorders, for example in terms of associated physical, mental health, social and legal problems. The epidemiological significance of the problem is contrasted sharply with (1) strongly increasing treatment demand due to cannabis-related problems, (2) the lack of evidence-based interventions (motivational and early treatment) (3) the lack of specific services, and (4) the lack of treatment programs and components with established efficacy. With regard to treatment research there is a marked deficit with only a handful of studies up to date. Only in the US and Australia, some recent effort was undertaken to develop and evaluate cannabis-specific dependence treatment programs in controlled trials with highly selective samples. However, there are currently no ‘state of the art’ benchmark programs neither in Germany nor in other European countries that are suitable for routine use.