Growing medicine: Small-scale cannabis cultivation for medical purposes in six different countries

Background: The production and consumption of cannabis for the treatment of medical conditions is of increasing importance internationally; however, research on different aspects of the phenomenon is still scarce. In this article, we report findings from a cross-cultural study of small-scale cannabis cultivation for medical purposes. This kind of comparative study has not been done previously. Methods: The data were gathered with a help of web surveys conducted by the Global Cannabis Cultivation Research Consortium (GCCRC) in Australia, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Germany and the UK (N = 5313). In the analysis we compare reports of medical motives, for what conditions cannabis is used, whether users have diagnoses for these conditions and whether the use of cannabis been recommended as a treatment of those conditions by a medical doctor. Descriptive statistics are used to show the main commonalities and noteworthy disparities across different countries. Results: Findings from countries were quite similar, even though several national differences in details were found. Growing cannabis for medical purposes was widespread. The majority of medical growers reported cultivating cannabis for serious conditions. Most of them did have a formal diagnosis. One fifth had got a recommendation from their doctor, but in most cases cannabis use was self-medication which was not discussed with their doctors. Conclusion: There is a wider demand for licit access for medical cannabis than currently available in these countries. Ideologically, medical growers can be seen distancing themselves from both the legal and illicit drug markets. From a harm reduction perspective, it is worrying that, in the context of present health and control policies in these countries, many medical growers are using cannabis to treat serious medical conditions without proper medical advice and doctor's guidance

Sourcing illegal drugs as a hidden older user: the ideal of ‘social supply’

Aims: At a time of growing awareness regarding the non-commercial supply of illegal drugs between friends, this article explores the significance of so-called ‘social supply’ for a group of ‘hidden’ users of illegal drugs aged 40 and over. Methodology: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 30 users of illegal drugs aged 40 and over who were not in contact with the criminal justice system or treatment agencies regarding their use. Participants were recruited using snowball sampling. Findings: Accessing drugs through the commercial market was considered as a less attractive proposition than social supply by the participants. The majority used only socially supplied drugs, with some engaging commercial dealers when socially supplied product was unavailable. A handful sourced drugs exclusively through the commercial market. Some were home growers of cannabis, and a small number had drifted into social supply themselves. Conclusions: Social supply was seen in a far more favourable light than commercial transactions by our participants, and acted as an ideal against which all other acts of sourcing were compared. Moreover, social supply was often an integral facet of the drug using experience and served to validate and enhance that experience. The relatively benign, non-predatory nature of the social supply engaged in by the participants lends support to calls for some reform of the offence of supply in UK law

Buying and Selling Crack

To assess key characteristics of the retail crack market and the role of users as buyers and sellers, data from a survey inside and outside institutional setting among 1,039 crack users in the three largest Dutch cities were analyzed to explore their role in the crack market as buyers and sellers. Of the total number of users, 42.3% bought crack in public places, 39.6% through home delivery, and 13.9% at dealer's addresses. Near one-third reported participating in selling drugs, defining themselves as "go-betweens" (21.4%) or "dealers" (9.2%). User-sellers and nonselling users did not differ with regard to gender and ethnicity. Cluster analysis resulted in three distinct types of user-sellers (freelancers, assistants, and amateurs), each characterized by time spent selling drugs, type of drugs sold, and earnings. Amateurs seem quite similar to what scholars have labeled "social dealers" in recreational drugs markets. This study suggests the need for a more differentiated law enforcement policy toward drug-selling users.</p

Blurred Boundaries: the artificial distinction between 'use' and 'supply' in the UK cannabis market.

his article examines particular features of the bottom level of the U.K. cannabis market and the overlap between supply–supplier and use–user within that market. An Internet survey was completed by 464 adult regular cannabis users residing in the United Kingdom. Results indicate that over a quarter of the sample had bought large amounts (9 ounces [252 g] or more) of cannabis at one time, a third had been involved in selling cannabis for profit and over two fifths had been involved in intentionally taking cannabis across internal European Union borders. These findings are discussed in relation to both Parker, Aldridge, and Measham’s (1998) thesis of normalization and South’s (1999) theory of the “everyday” nature of drug taking. We suggest that the boundaries between users and suppliers within the U.K. cannabis market are far from clear, and that attempts to conceptually separate these behaviors, whether for legal, policy or academic purposes, are therefore problematic. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER