Growing practices and the use of potentially harmful chemical additives from a web survey of mainly small-scale cannabis growers in 18 countries.

Background: There is emerging recognition of the risks of harmful chemical pesticides, fertilizers and 'nutrients' by cannabis growers. One group of chemicals, Plant Growth Regulators (PGRs), many of which have been banned from food crops for decades, have been found unlisted in a number of fertilizers and supplements marketed at cannabis growers.

Methods: This paper predominately uses data from a 2020-21 convenience web survey of mainly small-scale, recent (last 5yrs) cannabis growers from 18 countries (n = 11,479).

Are cannabis use problems comparable across individuals using for recreational and medical purposes? An international cross-sectional study of individuals who use self-grown cannabis.

Background: Little is known about cannabis use problems among individuals who use cannabis for medical purposes and whether rates and determinants of cannabis use problems in medical users differ to those observed among individuals using for recreational reasons. This study examines whether Severity of Dependence Scale (SDS) scores differ across individuals who use self-grown cannabis for the following reasons: "recreational only", "medical and recreational" and "medical only". Furthermore, the study tests whether cannabis use frequency, cannabis strain, and type of cannabis influences the strength of the association between purpose of use and cannabis use problems.

Perceived harms and protective behavioural strategies among khat chewers: a qualitative study in Jimma, Ethiopia.

Background: While there have been many previous studies focusing on the adverse effects of khat chewing, attempts to investigate the protective behavioural strategies (PBS) employed by the khat using population are rare. PBS are strategies that substance users employ to minimize or alleviate the possible negative consequences related to the behaviour. This study focuses on the harms that chewers associate with khat use, and the behavioural strategies they practise to prevent or minimize these harms.

Is chewing khat associated with mental health disorders? A scoping review of the content and quality of the current evidence base.

Background: Khat (Catha edulis) is a plant commonly found in the horn of Africa whose leaves are chewed for their psycho-stimulant effects. Several studies have demonstrated the association between khat use and mental health problems. Nevertheless, evidence is mixed and inconsistent, warranting further review of available studies.

Assessing options for cannabis law reform: A Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) with stakeholders in New Zealand.

Background: A number of jurisdictions are considering or implementing different options for cannabis law reform, including New Zealand. Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) helps facilitate the resolution of complex policy decisions by breaking them down into key criteria and drawing on the combined knowledge of experts from various backgrounds.

Aims: To rank cannabis law reform options by facilitating expert stakeholders to express preferences for projected reform outcomes using MCDA.

Growing practices and the use of potentially harmful chemical additives among a sample of small-scale cannabis growers in three countries.

Background: With the growth of legal cannabis markets there has been recognition of the adverse impacts of certain cannabis growing practices, notably, use of harmful chemicals. A major concern has been the use of Plant Growth Regulators (PGRs) which limit plant size and stimulate bud production. These chemicals, many of which have been banned from food crops, have been found unlisted in cannabis growing nutrients sold online or in hydroponic stores.

The burgeoning recognition and accommodation of the social supply of drugs in international criminal justice systems: An eleven-nation comparative overview.

Background: It is now commonly accepted that there exists a form of drug supply, that involves the non-commercial supply of drugs to friends and acquaintances for little or no profit, which is qualitatively different from profit motivated 'drug dealing proper'. 'Social supply', as it has become known, has a strong conceptual footprint in the United Kingdom, shaped by empirical research, policy discussion and its accommodation in legal frameworks. Though scholarship has emerged in a number of contexts outside the UK, the extent to which social supply has developed as an internationally recognised concept in criminal justice contexts is still unclear.

Regulating Cannabis Social Clubs: A comparative analysis of legal and self-regulatory practices in Spain, Belgium and Uruguay.

Background: Cannabis Social Clubs (CSCs) are a model of non-profit production and distribution of cannabis among a closed circuit of adult cannabis users. CSCs are now operating in several countries around the world, albeit under very different legal regimes and in different socio-political contexts.

Aim: In this paper we describe and compare the legal framework and the self-regulatory practices of Cannabis Social Clubs in three countries (Spain, Belgium, and Uruguay).

Assessing the harms of cannabis cultivation in Belgium.

Background: Since the 1990s, a shift from the importation of foreign cannabis to domestic cultivation has taken place in Belgium, as it has in many other countries. This shift has prompted Belgian policy-making bodies to prioritize the repression of cannabis cultivation. Against this background, the article aims to systematically map and assess for the first time ever the harms associated with cannabis cultivation, covering the whole spectrum of growers.

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).

Lessons from conducting trans-national Internet-mediated participatory research with hidden populations of cannabis cultivators.

Background: Internet-mediated research methods are increasingly used to access hidden populations. The International Cannabis Cultivation Questionnaire (ICCQ) is an online survey designed to facilitate international comparisons into the relatively under-researched but increasingly significant phenomenon of domestic cannabis cultivation. The Global Cannabis Cultivation Research Consortium has used the ICCQ to survey over 6000 cannabis cultivators across 11 countries.

Cannabis social clubs in Belgium: organizational strengths and weaknesses, and threats to the model.

Background: Cannabis Social Clubs (CSCs) are private organizations or clubs of users that produce cannabis for non-profit distribution to adult members to meet their personal needs without having to turn to the black market. CSCs can be found in many countries, but the term often covers very different empirical realities. Inspired by the Spanish CSCs and similarly taking advantage of a grey area in the Belgian cannabis legislation, Belgian cannabis activists set up the first Belgian CSC in 2006, and there are now at least 5 Belgian CSCs.

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.

The case for small-scale domestic cannabis cultivation.

The shift to (inter)regional production, trade and domestic cultivation has become an irreversible international trend. Until now, the focus of most empirical work has been on large-scale, commercially oriented and professionally organized segments of the cannabis industry, often based on police data and on the perspective of law enforcement agencies. This paper offers a review of recent Dutch-language research that focuses on cannabis cultivation.

Antwerp Drugs and Alcohol Monitor: a Belgian local drug scene in the picture.

Introduction And Aims: Qualitative data on local drug scenes in Belgium are scarce. As information on them remains limited to the official registration systems, the needs of a number of drug users are not taken into account. From a social scientific and policy point of view, there is a need for information on the experiences and the patterns of drug use.