What can we learn from low-THC cannabis growers in Europe? A comparative transnational study of small-scale cannabis growers from Italy and Switzerland.

BACKGROUND: A market for cannabis with low levels (LT) of Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) has recently emerged in Europe alongside an ongoing trend of domestic cannabis cultivation with high-THC content (HT). This phenomenon may have diversified the growers' profile. This study investigates LT growers' (LTG) characteristics (demographics, consumption patterns, growing experience) and growing motivations with a subsequent comparison with HT growers (HTG). METHODS: Data from 11,479 small-scale growers was collected through an online survey (ICCQ 2) conducted by the Global Cannabis Cultivation Research Consortium (GCCRC) from 2020 to 2021. This exploratory study analyses a subsample of the 1618 respondents residing in Italy and Switzerland. A quantitative approach was used, performing comparative bivariate and multivariate analyses between participants who have only grown HT plants in the previous year (HTG; n = 1303) and those who have either grown LT only or alongside HT (LTG; n = 315). RESULTS: LTGs differ significantly from HTGs. LTGs are older than HTGs. Growing medical cannabis for oneself and others is more likely among them than HTGs. Compared to HTGs, LTGs have lesser odds to grow for recreational use and to have problematic cannabis use. Growing for legality, pleasure and accessing milder cannabis is more likely for LTGs than HTGs. HTGs have greater experience than HTGs, growing for longer, more extensively and better meeting their consumption needs. There is a wider production of by-products, such as oils and extracts, among LTGs than HTGs. Having been in contact with the police for growing is also more likely among them than HTGs. CONCLUSION: LTGs reported significantly more growing experience when compared to HTGs and should be considered a distinct group of growers. The results suggest that the emergence of the legal LT market has more likely drawn previous HTGs into growing LT, mainly medically, rather than attracting new individuals toward cannabis cultivation.

Global patterns in small-scale cannabis growers' distribution practices: Exploring the grower-distributor nexus.

BACKGROUND: While the supply of cannabis is commonly assumed to be dominated by criminal gangs, a sizable share of the domestic cannabis supply is provided by small-scale growers. This article examines the nature and scope of small-scale growers' distribution practices, with a particular focus on cross-country differences and variations between different types of grower-distributors, i.e., "non-suppliers", "exclusive social suppliers", "sharers and sellers" and "exclusive sellers". METHODS: Based on a large convenience web survey sample of predominantly small-scale cannabis growers from 18 countries, this article draws on data from two subsamples. The first subsample includes past-year growers in all 18 countries who answered questions regarding their market participation (n = 8,812). The second subsample includes past-year growers in 13 countries, who answered additional questions about their supply practices (n = 2,296). RESULTS: The majority of the cannabis growers engaged in distribution of surplus products, making them in effect "grower-distributors". Importantly, many did so as a secondary consequence of growing, and social supply (e.g., sharing and gifting) is much more common than selling. While growers who both shared and sold ("sharers and sellers"), and especially those who only sold ("exclusive sellers"), grew a higher number of plants and were most likely to grow due to a wish to sell for profits, the majority of these are best described as small-scale sellers. That is, the profit motive for growing was often secondary to non-financial motives and most sold to a limited number of persons in their close social network. CONCLUSION: We discuss the implications of the findings on the structural process of import-substitution in low-end cannabis markets, including a growing normalization of cannabis supply.

Conflict and social control among cannabis growers.

AIMS: Illegal drug markets are often assumed to be violent and predatory due to the absence of third-party enforcement. While cannabis markets are generally considered to be relatively more peaceful, there has been little investigation of the levels of conflict and victimization among small-scale cannabis growers, particularly under different cannabis policy and enforcement settings. This paper explores prevalence and predictors of conflict and social control among small-scale cannabis growers. METHODS: The data were obtained from an online convenience survey of small-scale cannabis growers from 13 countries (Austria, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Israel, New Zealand, Portugal, Switzerland, United Kingdom, United States, and Uruguay) from August 2020 to September 2021 (N = 5667). Key measures collected included the types of victimization due to cannabis growing, the perpetrators of these predatory actions, reasons for the conflict, and the grower's response to being victimized. Multivariate logistic regression models were used to identify predictors of different types of victimization and social control responses among cannabis cultivators. RESULTS: Most growers (76 %) never directly experienced violence or other victimization related to their cannabis cultivation. However, about one-quarter of growers had been victimized at some point, mostly involving theft, with physical violence rare. Growing outdoors, growing with others, growing more plants, and being a more seasoned grower increased the risk of victimization. Growers who were motivated by profit were more susceptible to theft. Surprisingly, growers in legal recreational jurisdictions experienced greater levels of theft and violent victimization than growers in illegal jurisdictions. Nonviolent social control responses predominated among the growers, mostly characterized by toleration but also avoidance and negotiation. CONCLUSION: While most growers reported no victimization, a substantial minority did so, largely theft rather than violence, and typically did not report employing retaliatory violence. Social control responses were mostly nonviolent. These findings varied under different cannabis policy and enforcement environments. Cannabis legalization does not eliminate opportunities for theft and violence related to cannabis cultivation.

Cannabis, an emerging aeroallergen in southeastern Spain (Region of Murcia).

The evolution of the behaviour of the Cannabis taxon in the Region of Murcia, Spain, has been analysed (in the cities of Cartagena, 1993-2020; Murcia, 2010-2020; and Lorca, 2010-2020). An attempt has been made to establish the origin of Cannabis pollen in this region to determine whether it is transported locally or from long distances based on air mass origins. Cannabis is an herbaceous, normally dioecious and anemophilous plant, which produces large quantities of pollen grains. It has been widely used for fibre (hemp), bird food (hempseed), essential oils and narcotics. The origin of Cannabis pollen grains has been established by calculating back trajectories at the altitudes of: 750, 1500 and 2500 m above mean sea level (m amsl); 350, 500 and 650 m amsl; and 10, 100 and 250 m amsl, using the HYSPLIT model. Considering this data, 29 days of Cannabis pollen potentially originating in Africa were identified in Cartagena, 19 days in Murcia and 15 days in Lorca. Of the remaining days, the air mass back trajectories showed local or regional pollen origins. These were 83 days in Cartagena, 61 days in Murcia and 57 days in Lorca. The presence of Cannabis in the bioaerosol of the Region of Murcia is irregular, and it is considered a minority pollen type. However, from 2017 to 2020, concentrations increased, with a positive and significant trend of 90% in the Annual Pollen Integral. The pollen season can be defined between June and August. This increase in the concentration of Cannabis pollen grains during this period coincides with an increase in local transport, suggesting the possibility of increased Cannabis cultivation in the study area.

Legalization of Cannabis and Agricultural Frontier Expansion.

The environmental impacts of cannabis cultivation have been an issue of growing concern, with legalization often framed as a means to introduce regulations that hinder damaging practices. However, the concept of frontier expansion presents the possibility that the widespread establishment of this new industry may institute an additional source of habitat encroachment. Here, through geospatial analysis, we employ Colorado as a case study to investigate the distribution of licensed recreational cannabis cultivators, potential habitat infringement of threatened and endangered species, and LULC change. From 2011 to 2016, licensed cannabis cultivation has resulted in over 67 ha of LULC change toward more developed land uses. In addition, nearly 15 km of new fencing was constructed establishing over 38 ha of fenced areas, and nearly 60 ha of vegetation was cleared. Much of this cannabis-driven LULC change is identified within the habitats of threatened and endangered species, as well as areas recognized as containing high biodiversity values with the potential for conservation. Thus, notable cannabis-driven frontier expansion is evident. Cannabis-driven LULC change is found to be primarily produced by outdoor and greenhouse facilities, as well as operations utilizing mixed-cultivation methods in rural areas. Therefore, policy instruments that inter alia encourage indoor cannabis cultivation in urban areas are recommended and discussed.

A narrative review on environmental impacts of cannabis cultivation.

Interest in growing cannabis for medical and recreational purposes is increasing worldwide. This study reviews the environmental impacts of cannabis cultivation. Results show that both indoor and outdoor cannabis growing is water-intensive. The high water demand leads to water pollution and diversion, which could negatively affect the ecosystem. Studies found out that cannabis plants emit a significant amount of biogenic volatile organic compounds, which could cause indoor air quality issues. Indoor cannabis cultivation is energy-consuming, mainly due to heating, ventilation, air conditioning, and lighting. Energy consumption leads to greenhouse gas emissions. Cannabis cultivation could directly contribute to soil erosion. Meanwhile, cannabis plants have the ability to absorb and store heavy metals. It is envisioned that technologies such as precision irrigation could reduce water use, and application of tools such as life cycle analysis would advance understanding of the environmental impacts of cannabis cultivation.

A regulatory take on cannabis and cannabinoids for medicinal use in the European Union.

The discovery of the endocannabinoid system has raised public interest in the medicinal use of cannabis, phytocannabinoids, and synthetic cannabinoids, which has always been closely regulated due to their psychotropic effects and potential abuse. The review takes a quick look at the current legal framework in the European Union, which regulates cannabis use and cultivation for medicinal purposes in line with the United Nations Conventions on the production, trade, and use of cannabis, phytocannabinoids, and synthetic cannabinoids. And while the EU legislation precisely defines requirements and marketing authorisation procedures for medicinal products for all EU member states, there is no common regulatory framework for magistral and officinal preparations containing cannabinoids, as they are exempt from marketing authorisation. Instead, their regulation is left to each member state, and it is quite uneven at this point, mainly due to cultural and historical differences between the countries, leading to different access to non-authorised medicinal products. Therefore, to meet great public interest, harmonised approaches on cannabinoid-containing products without marketing authorisation would be welcome to level the playing field in the EU.

Overview of "home" cultivation policies and the case for community-based cannabis supply.

BACKGROUND: Cannabis policies should be relevant to communities most impacted by them. Home cultivation policies can engage people who grow cannabis and build on their motivation to supply a safe product. This paper aims to examine the laws pertaining to "home" (i.e. personal, small-scale) cannabis cultivation internationally and their different aspects, and to discuss the potential of these policies to be expanded into community-level cannabis supply models. METHODS: We reviewed relevant laws and regulations in states/countries that legalised, decriminalised or applied other non-prohibitive approaches to home cannabis cultivation. FINDINGS: Non-prohibitive approaches to home cannabis cultivation have been adopted in at least 27 jurisdictions. Twelve jurisdictions "de jure" legalised home cultivation (three U.S. states and Antigua and Barbuda legalised only home cultivation; six U.S. states, Uruguay and Canada legalised commercial sales as well). Eight states/countries "de facto" (Belgium, the Netherlands) or "de jure" decriminalised it (Czech Republic, Spain, Jamaica, and three Australian states). "De jure" depenalisation was in place in Chile and Brazil and recent court rulings yielded "de facto" depenalisation or "de facto" legalisation in five other jurisdictions (South Africa, Mexico, Colombia, Costa Rica and Georgia). Varying number of plants (per person and per property) and the circumstances of cultivation were in place. The key limitations of the regulations included (i) possession thresholds for the produce from home cultivations, (ii) rules about sharing the produce, and (iii) potentially disproportionate sanctions for non-authorised behaviours. Despite currently being limited, home cultivation policies might have the capacity to engage cannabis networks that already exist in the community and like that, enhance their participation in legitimate policy schemes. CONCLUSIONS: Rules around pooled cultivation and sharing could be made fit for purpose to accommodate community supply of cannabis. Home cultivation policies could serve as a basis for community-level cannabis supply models and as such, for more inclusive cannabis policies.

[Cannabis for medical purposes-the law of March 2017 and its history]. / Cannabis zu medizinischen Zwecken ­ Das Gesetz vom März 2017 und seine Vorgeschichte.

Since March 2017, the law amending narcotic and other regulations has expanded the options for prescribing cannabis-derived medicines by doctors. Under certain conditions, patients can be treated with cannabis-derived medicines at the expense of the statutory health insurance. With a prescription, cannabis-derived medicines may be available that are not approved as a finished medicinal product. The reasons for this lie in particular in court decisions from the years 2005 and 2016.The decisive legal regulation increases the responsibility of doctors and pharmacists in supplying their patients with cannabis-derived medicines. A five-year monitoring survey is being conducted by the Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices (BfArM) to evaluate the effects on patient care. In order to ensure the supply of cannabis-derived medicines in the future, the cultivation of cannabis in Germany is planned under the conditions of the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs under the control of a cannabis agency.

The three betrayals of the medical cannabis growing activist: From multiple victimhood to reconstruction, redemption and activism.

While cannabis has been widely used in the UK for over 50 years, it is only in recent decades that domestic cultivation has become established. Public concern, media reporting and policing policy has emphasised the role of profit motivated criminal organisations often working on a large scale and with coerced labour. However, increasingly, another population are growing for medical reasons, to help themselves and others treat or manage difficult, poorly understood, or incurable conditions. Our study sought to further understand the motives, techniques and interactions of cannabis cultivators through interviews with 48 growers and supplementary ethnographic work. As well as those motivated to grow for personal use, social and commercial supply purposes we identified a cohort growing to provide themselves and others with cannabis used for therapeutic purposes. This paper draws primarily on interviews with a sub-group of sixteen medically-motivated growers who were not only involved in treatment, but also embraced the label "activist". Rather than develop techniques of deception they were organising to effect a change in legislation. Rejecting the image of criminal perpetrators, they presented themselves as victims of unjust government policy, an indifferent medical establishment, and brutal and immoral criminal markets. Through cultivation, association, self-healing and apomedication, they have found voice and are shifting the debate over the status of growers and of cannabis itself. The ambiguity of their position as both producers and patients challenges the assumptions underlying legal distinctions between suppliers and users, with potentially profound implications for policy.

Propagating the Haze? Community and professional perceptions of cannabis cultivation and the impacts of prohibition.

BACKGROUND: Recent decades have seen substantial changes in the UK cannabis landscape, including increased domestic production, the ascendancy of stronger strains (namely 'skunk') and the drug's reclassification under the 1971 Misuse of Drugs Act. Resultantly, cannabis retains significance in the consciousness, priorities and policy agendas of communities, drug services and criminal justice agencies. METHODS: This paper presents an empirical study, which examined both perceptions and impacts of cannabis cultivation and its control within a North-West English borough. It draws on qualitative research with samples of professionals, practitioners, resident groups, cannabis users, cannabis users' families and cannabis cultivators themselves. FINDINGS: The findings suggest that cannabis cultivation was not a uniformly familiar concept to respondents, who had limited knowledge and experience of its production. Across all participant groups, the transmission of accurate information was lacking, with individuals instead drawing on the reductionist drug discourse (Taylor, 2016) to fill knowledge deficits. Consequently, some participants conflated cannabis cultivation with wider prohibitionist constructions of drug markets, resulting in the diffusion of misinformation and an amplification of anxieties. In contrast, other participants construed cultivation as making economic sense during austerity, justifying such tolerance through inverse adherence to the same narrow socio-cultural construction of drugs i.e. that cultivation carried comparatively less harms than real drug markets. Enforcement mechanisms also drew on generic prohibitionist conceptions, assuming cultivators to be unconstrained, autonomous actors in need of punishment; a belief which lacked nuanced understanding of the local terrain where vulnerable individuals cultivating under duress played a key role in the supply chain. CONCLUSION: The paper concludes with a call for the provision of accessible information/education; the need to challenge and reconceptualise the assumed autonomy and resultant punity directed at all cannabis cultivators; and a subsequent need to reassess established forms of legal (and increasingly social) enforcement.

Cannabis cultivation in Spain: A profile of plantations, growers and production systems.

BACKGROUND: The European market for cannabis derivatives is being transformed. The cultivation of cannabis within the EU and the shift of demand from hashish to domestic marihuana are key aspects of this transformation. Spain, formerly central to the trade of Moroccan hashish, is becoming a marihuana-producing country. The emergence of "import-substitution" has been researched in other EU countries, but thus far the Spanish case remains undocumented. METHODS: This paper is based on analysis of data of 748 cannabis plantations seized by Spanish police in 2013. The sample comprises reports of seizures identified through a survey of online news and police reports. "Event-analysis" methods were applied to these sources. RESULTS: The analysis offers a typology of plantations, a profile of participants and the different production systems, and a model of regional distribution. Half of the plantations were small (less than 42 plants) and half contained between 100 and 1000 plants, with an average size of 261 plants. About three-quarters of plants were cultivated indoors using stolen electricity. 86% of all plants seized were from large-scale plantations (more than 220 plants). Most plantations were located along the Mediterranean coast, where population and tourism are concentrated. Over three-quarters of those indicted by police were Spanish (85%). Among the foreign owners of big plantations, Dutch nationals predominated. The number of seized plants by province was directly associated with the number of grow shops (ß=0.962, p<0.001). CONCLUSION: The rise of large-scale cannabis plantations in the Spanish Mediterranean coast is increasingly replacing import of Moroccan hashish. Indoor cultivation supported by grow shops, that provide the technology and know-how, seem to be the dominant form of organization in this emerging industry. Large-scale plantations may have met most of the demand for marihuana in 2013.

Field observations of the developing legal recreational cannabis economy in Washington State.

BACKGROUND: Washington State legalized the sale of recreational cannabis in 2012. This paper describes the unfolding of the market regulatory regime in an eastern portion of the state, including field descriptions to illustrate the setting. METHODS: We made observations and conducted interviews of the local supply chain comprising a producer/processor, analytic facility, and retail establishments as well as querying the state director of the regulatory board. RESULTS: Interviews and observations of facilities suggest an overwhelming concern for black market diversion drives state regulatory efforts. The ongoing dialogue between market actors and the state has resulted in a more equitable distribution of profits at different stages in the process. State safety regulations have thus far been shifted to independent laboratories. Banks and insurance companies have slowly begun making inroads into the industry, despite federal prohibition. CONCLUSION: The law was conceived as a social justice remedy, but the bulk of the legal and regulatory activity surrounds cannabis marketplace management. This has been characterized by concerns for black market diversion, producer/processor profits, and a hands-off approach to safety regulation. Minor cannabis violations as a pathway to criminal justice system involvement have been reduced substantially but disproportionate enforcement upon racial/ethnic minorities continues.

Legal issues for German-speaking cannabis growers. Results from an online survey.

BACKGROUND: Cannabis prohibition can generally be regarded as the main driver for home growing of marijuana. In this paper, I discuss the impact of drug prohibition on cannabis cultivators from the three German-speaking countries: Germany, Austria and Switzerland. In particular, this refers to the questions; how illicitness influences motivations for growing; which precautionary measures are taken against the risk of discovery; how penal consequences differ in the three countries and how these aspects are linked to each other. METHODS: The results come from a sample of 1578 respondents from the German-language online survey conducted following the International Cannabis Cultivation Questionnaire (ICCQ). The survey was carried out in late 2012 and early 2013. RESULTS: While most of the reasons for growing cannabis relate to avoiding negative consequences of prohibition, the illicitness of cannabis also plays a major role for concern about the cultivation activities as well as measures to avoid negative consequences. Swiss growers are less worried about their activity compared to respondents from Germany or Austria. CONCLUSION: The results confirm the notion that the illicitness of cannabis is the main drive for the private cultivation of the plant. At the same time, prohibition is the principal reason for concern regarding the growing activity. The severity of possible sentences seems to be linked to the degree of concern and precautionary measures.

"Should I Buy or Should I Grow?" How drug policy institutions and drug market transaction costs shape the decision to self-supply with cannabis in the Netherlands and the Czech Republic.

BACKGROUND: This paper uses the framework of institutional economics to assess the impact of formal and informal institutions that influence the transaction costs on the cannabis market, and users' decisions to self-supply in the Czech Republic and the Netherlands, two countries with seemingly identical policies towards cannabis cultivation. METHODS: A comparative analysis was conducted using secondary qualitative and quantitative data in four areas that were identified as relevant to the decision to cultivate cannabis: (i) the rules of the game - cannabis cultivation policy; (ii) "playing the game" - implementation of cannabis cultivation policy, (iii) informal institutions - cannabis cultivation culture, and (iv) the transaction costs of the cannabis market - availability, quality, and relative cannabis prices adjusted by purchasing power parity. RESULTS: Although the two policies are similar, their implementation differs substantially. In the Czech Republic, law enforcement has focused almost exclusively on large-scale cultivation. This has resulted in a competitive small-scale cultivation market, built upon a history of cannabis self-supply, which is pushing cannabis prices down. In the Netherlands, the costs of establishing one's own self-supply have historically outweighed the costs associated with buying in coffee shops. Additionally, law enforcement has recently pushed small-scale growers away from the market, and a large-scale cannabis supply, partly controlled by organised criminal groups, has been established that is driving prices up. The Czech cannabis prices have become relatively lower than the Dutch prices only recently, and the decision to buy on the market or to self-supply will be further shaped by the transactions costs on both markets, by policy implementation and by the local culture. CONCLUSIONS: The ability to learn from the impacts of cannabis cultivation policies conducted within the framework of UN drug treaties is particularly important at a time when increasing numbers of countries are seeking more radical reforms of their cannabis policy.

Cannabis cultivation in Quebec: between space-time hotspots and coldspots.

BACKGROUND: Cannabis cultivation has become increasingly localized, whether soil-based or hydroponic growing methods are used. Characteristics of a given location, such as its climate and the equipment it requires may influence general accessibility or attract different types of offenders based on potential profits. The location of crops, especially hydroponic crops, suggests a certain proximity to the consumer market via semi-urban and urban environments, while making it possible to avoid detection. This article examines the cannabis market through its cultivation. METHODS: The stability of temporal and spatial clusters of cannabis cultivation, hotspots, and coldspots between 2001 and 2009 in the province of Quebec, Canada, are addressed. Studying the geography of crime is not a new endeavor, but coldspots are rarely documented in drug market research. Using arrests and general population data, as well as Kulldorff's scan statistics, results show that the temporal distribution of cannabis cultivation is highly seasonal for soil-based methods. RESULTS: Hydroponic production shows adaptation to its soil-based counterpart. Stable patterns are found for both spatial distributions. Hotspots for soil-based cultivation are found near several urban centers and the Ontario border. For hydroponic cannabis cultivation, a new hotspot suggests the emergence of an American demand for Quebec-grown cannabis between 2007 and 2009. Curiously, the region surrounding Montreal, the largest urban center in Quebec, is a recurrent and stable coldspot for both methods of cultivation. CONCLUSION: For all periods, spatial clusters are stronger for soil-based methods than in the hydroponic context. Temporal differences and spatial similarities between soil-based cultivation and hydroponic cultivation are discussed. The role of the metropolis is also addressed.

Global patterns of domestic cannabis cultivation: sample characteristics and patterns of growing across eleven countries.

BACKGROUND: This article aims to provide an overview of: demographic characteristics; experiences with growing cannabis; methods and scale of growing operations; reasons for growing; personal use of cannabis and other drugs; participation in cannabis and other drug markets; contacts with the criminal justice system for respondents to an online survey about cannabis cultivation drawn from eleven countries (N=6530). Important similarities and differences between the national samples recruited will be discussed. METHODS: This paper utilizes data from the online web survey of predominantly 'small-scale' cannabis cultivators in eleven countries conducted by the Global Cannabis Cultivation Research Consortium (GCCRC). Here we focus primarily on descriptive statistics to highlight key similarities and differences across the different national samples. RESULTS: Overall there was a great deal of similarity across countries in terms of: demographic characteristics; experiences with growing cannabis; methods and scale of growing operations; reasons for growing; use of cannabis and other drugs; participation in cannabis and other drug markets, and; contacts with the criminal justice system. In particular, we can recognise that a clear majority of those small-scale cannabis cultivators who responded to our survey are primarily motivated for reasons other than making money from cannabis supply and have minimal involvement in drug dealing or other criminal activities. CONCLUSIONS: These growers generally come from 'normal' rather than 'deviant' backgrounds. Some differences do exist between the samples drawn from different countries suggesting that local factors (political, geographical, cultural, etc.) may have some influence on how small-scale cultivators operate, although differences in recruitment strategies in different countries may also account for some differences observed.

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.

Four barriers and a set of values that prevent violence among cannabis growers.

BACKGROUND: Cannabis markets are often described as less violent than other drug markets. Domestic cannabis cultivation markets seem to be especially non-violent. However, few studies have investigated why this might be. METHODS: Two and half years of ethnographic fieldwork among indoor cannabis growers and interviews and conversations with 52 growers in Norway. RESULTS: This study identified four barriers and a set of values that prevent violence among growers. (1) Violence attracts increased attention from police and enemies, which inhibits 'business as usual' and reduces profits. (2) Careful attention to profits makes growers calculate and prepare for financial losses. (3) The prospect of covering debt by producing more cannabis makes it possible to choose non-violent sanctions. (4) Tight social ties and friendships prevent violence when conflicts erupt. However, the cannabis culture of the actors and the transactions stands out as the main reason why these four barriers are more important in cannabis markets than in other drug markets. CONCLUSION: This paper discusses how policymakers can benefit from the market changes that follow 'import substitution' to construct policies that prevent violence and facilitate peaceful drug markets and drug cultures.