Cannabis consumption patterns among frequent consumers in Uruguay

How High-Frequency Users Embraced Cannabis Regulation in Uruguay

How cannabis legalization affects users’ behaviors? In this paper, we describe changes in the way users access cannabis in Uruguay before and after the implementation of cannabis regulation. We explore the differences between users that access through the legal, black, and gray markets. To do so, we rely on two face-to-face surveys of high-frequency users using the Respondent Driven Sample technique. The first survey was conducted at the beginning of the regulation implementation in 2014, and the second one in 2017. Results indicate that cannabis users gradually moved to the legal market, and most switched to the gray market. Furthermore, users kept acquiring cannabis from the black market even when using legal mechanisms. Considering these results, we argue that the strict regulations imposed in Uruguay may have operated as barriers for consumers to abandon the black market completely. These findings show that the specifics of each legalization policy matter.

Legalization of recreational cannabis: Facilitators and barriers to switching from an illegal to a legal source

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Limiting surveillance, quantity limits, and preserving anonymity is a facilitator.

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Competitive pricing from the illicit market and heavy regulation are barriers.

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Loyalty to current illicit suppliers is a barrier to switching to a licit market.

Illicit markets persist in places where recreational cannabis has been legalized. This study aimed to identify perceived facilitators/barriers of switching from an illicit to a licit cannabis source. Using a cross-sectional qualitative approach, 529 students, from one New Zealand university, completed a survey investigating the facilitators/barriers to switching through two open-ended questions. Perceived facilitators for switching included: safety (63.1%); price (42.7%); legal, no risk of convictions (35.3%); increased accessibility (32.3%); product diversity (14.2%). Perceived barriers included: price (66.4%); judgement (36%); regulation (28.9%); loyalty to current supplier (27.2%); reduced accessibility (13.2%). The findings provide recommendations for policies aimed at tipping people in favor of a licit over an illicit source. Avoiding arrest/convictions, and easier access, were not primary facilitators for switching. Thus, providing a licit market might be insufficient in the absence of other competitive factors, such as communicating improved product safety. Competitive pricing and regulation (tetrahydrocannabinol strength/quantity limits) were also barriers. Given legal markets aimed at minimizing harm are constrained with competing in these areas, it is significant that our findings identified other barriers which could be overcome, including limiting surveillance and quantity limits and positioning stores to preserve anonymity. The findings also highlight that loyalty to current illicit suppliers will be a significant barrier.

Perceptions of quality and safety in cannabis acquisition amongst young gay and bisexual men living with HIV/AIDS who use cannabis: Impact of legalisation and dispensaries

BACKGROUND

Upwards of 35% of young gay and bisexual men living with HIV report daily use of cannabis in the U.S. The effects of legalisation of recreational and medical cannabis on the acquisition of cannabis products amongst a group with such high prevalence of use is largely unknown.

METHODS

We investigated potential effects of recent legalisation and changes in distribution venues/networks in U.S. jurisdictions (Denver and Chicago) with different legal statuses regarding medical and recreational cannabis. We conducted semi-structured interviews with 30 young gay and bisexual men living with HIV recruited from adolescent HIV clinics and service sites in the two cities.

RESULTS

Findings indicate four domains in which the acquisition of cannabis from medical or recreational dispensaries was differentiated by participants from acquisition from illicit drug distribution networks: quality of information, perceived quality of products, safety of acquisition, and safety of products. Some participants expressed reservations in becoming involved with requirements for accessing legal distribution of medical and recreational cannabis.

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings indicate that young men living with HIV in Denver perceive benefits from legalisation of cannabis in terms of quality of information and products and safety of acquisition for a range of medical, therapeutic, and recreational uses. Participants in Chicago report mixed levels of knowledge of potential benefits through the medical cannabis dispensaries in their area, and continue to be exposed to safety risks associated with street-based acquisition. Concerns regarding institutional involvement in medical cannabis registries and dispensaries may inhibit the uptake of legal means of acquisition in sub-populations of young men living with HIV.

Hidden and uninterested populations: Methodological insights and unresolved issues from the study of Cannabis Social Clubs

Cannabis Social Clubs are typically non-profit associations established by adult users of cannabis, which produce and distribute cannabis among their members. Such associations can be found in several European countries and beyond, but with exception of Uruguay, they are illegal or otherwise operate at the margins of domestic drug control legislation, at risk for law enforcement detection. We have conducted several individual and collaborative studies on Cannabis Social Clubs and their key actors (e.g. Cannabis Social Clubs leaders, users affiliated as members, cannabis growers, other stakeholders), primarily drawing on qualitative methods (e.g. ethnographic fieldwork, interviews, qualitative media analyses) but also employing a quantitative approach (e.g. online surveys). In this article, we reflect on the research experiences of the authors in studying Cannabis Social Clubs, providing insights for future research in this area and within criminology and socio-legal studies. In particular, we aim to examine our approaches with regard to the recruitment of participants and research design, identifying good practices, but also discussing what the less successful strategies were. We draw on research conducted since 2014 in different countries, with different legal frameworks, which provides an opportunity for a comparative and more in-depth critical consideration of what might be helpful ways of reaching and researching hard-to-reach populations.

Interpol review of controlled substances 2016-2019

This review paper covers the forensic-relevant literature in controlled substances from 2016 to 2019 as a part of the 19th Interpol International Forensic Science Managers Symposium. The review papers are also available at the Interpol website at: https://www.interpol.int/content/download/14458/file/Interpol%20Review%20Papers%202019.pdf.

From prohibition to regulation: A comparative analysis of the emergence and related outcomes of new legal cannabis policy models (Colorado, Washington State and Uruguay)

An effective approach to drug regulation is a growing concern. Since 2012, 10 US States and Uruguay have taken the step to revoke prohibition and legalize the recreational cannabis market. Based on the findings from a study ('Cannalex') carried out in 2015-2017 in Colorado, Washington and Uruguay by the French Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (OFDT) and the Institute of Security and Justice (INHESJ), relying on a hundred of in-depth interviews analyzed in line with the existing official statistics and studies, this paper shows heterogeneous policy-making models and contexts for reform. It also examines the early outcomes of the cannabis policy change. A mixed picture is emerging from the regulatory regimes currently implemented. This paper discusses the reform processes and their early outcomes, with a specific focus on the less documented area: the political processes that led to legalizing cannabis, analyzed with qualitative data. It argues that the different outcomes reported across Colorado, Washington and Uruguay are framed by the regulatory options that were taken, depending on specific dynamics of reform. The discussion focuses on some hot topics raised by the effective regulations, stressing that the array of cannabis regulatory options is a public debate that has just begun.

Uruguayan Cannabis Social Clubs: From activism to dispensaries?

BACKGROUND

In 2013 Uruguay regulated three models for the supply of cannabis for recreational use (Law 19.172), including Cannabis Social Clubs (CSCs). According to the Cannabis Regulation and Control Institute, 110 CSCs are active at the time of writing.

OBJECTIVES

This paper has a twofold goal. Firstly, it aims to take stock of how the CSC model has continued to be implemented in practice, drawing on the first-hand accounts of those involved in its management. Secondly, our analysis seeks to contribute to the understanding of the CSC model by considering the different variants of the model that have emerged in Uruguay.

METHODOLOGY

Our analysis draws on qualitative research conducted in Uruguay between June and October of 2018. We conducted 15 semi-structured and face-to-face interviews with representatives of registered Uruguayan CSCs and with 13 other stakeholders.

RESULTS/CONCLUSIONS

CSCs' role as cannabis suppliers is perceived positively in terms of the type of cannabis produced and the means of distribution. We found that truly social CSCs co-exist with, and may be losing ground to, quasi-dispensary clubs. A number of factors may have contributed to this, including the Uruguayan regulatory framework, institutional context, and disengagement of members and/or CSC managers. This raises potential new challenges as to the contribution of the CSC model from a harm reduction perspective.

Cannabis Use and Supply Patterns Among Belgian Cannabis Social Club Members

Cannabis Social Clubs (CSCs) constitute a noncommercial model for the supply of cannabis among registered, adults users, which is present in several countries—including in Belgium. This analysis provides a first descriptive examination of a sample of Belgian CSC members’ patterns of use and supply, as well as their sociodemographic features. According to a new voluntary survey of 190 Belgian CSC members, more than three quarters are male, Belgian, and more than half work full- or part-time. About 44% of respondents have completed university studies. Securing cannabis was the primary reason to adhere to a CSC, and most are (near-)daily users. Our results revealed that the CSC was the sole supplier for most respondents of cannabis-producing CSCs, who obtained almost exclusively (dried) herbal cannabis. The presence of (self-declared) medical users in our sample is noteworthy. This analysis advances our knowledge of the segment of the market served by this noncommercial model.