How Close to the “Honeypot?”

• Author: Vendula Belackova,Michaela Brandnerova,David Vechet
• Published date: 01 September 2018
• Date: 01 September 2018
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1177/1057567717744857
• Subject Matter: Articles

Article

How Close to the “Honeypot?”:

A Comparative Analysis

of Cannabis Markets Under

Two Different Policies

Toward Personal Cultivation

Vendula Belackova

1,2

, Michaela Brandnerova

1

,

and David Vechet

1

Abstract

Background: This study aimed to assess how cannabis markets compare in two states with dif-

ferent cannabis policies. The possession of cannabis is decriminalized in both the Czech Republic (de

facto) and in New South Wales (NSW; de jure), but personal cannabis cultivation has been toler-

ated/decriminalized only in the Czech Republic. Methods: Semistructured interviews were con-

ducted in the Czech Republic (n¼25) and in NSW, Australia (n¼25) between 2009 and 2014 and

analyzed with thematic and qualitative content analysis. Findings: The Czech respondents often

grew their own cannabis or got it directly from somebody who grew it. Cannabis users in both

places preferred quality cannabis which was free of chemicals, but the Australian respondents

seemed more likely to get cannabis that varied in quality and was potentially produced under large-

scale, unsafe conditions. Triangulation with other data sources suggests that these findings could

apply more broadly. Conclusions: The findings of this study indicate that policy can encourage the

proliferation of small-scale cannabis cultivation, leading to lower health and social risks. Policy

approaches that tolerate such cultivation should be considered as an alternative or as a complement

to the existing or proposed cannabis policies.

Keywords

cannabis cultivation, cannabis quality, cannabis policy, comparative analysis, qualitative research

1

Department of Addictology, First Faculty of Medicine, Charles University in Prague and General Teaching Hospital in Prague,

Prague, Czech Republic

2

Drug Policy Modelling Program, National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre, Faculty of Medicine, University of New South

Wales, Randwick, New South Wales, Australia

Corresponding Author:

Vendula Belackova, Department of Addictology, First Faculty of Medicine, Charles University in Prague and General Teaching

Hospital in Prague, Apolinarska 4, Prague 2—120 00, Czech Republic.

Email: vendulabelackova@gmail.com

International CriminalJustice Review

2018, Vol. 28(3) 206-225

ª2018 Georgia State University

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DOI: 10.1177/1057567717744857

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A number of jurisdictions have moved ahead with the legalization of cannabis, for example, the

U.S. states of Colorado and Washington as well as Uruguay. In other places, a variety of cannabis

prohibition regimes remain in place. These range from punitive to liberal (Levine, 2003), with many

countries adopting some form of decriminalization in relation to the possession and cultivation of

cannabis for one’s own use (Eastwood, Fox, & Rosmarin, 2016). Evaluation of the impact of the

different cannabis policy models on individuals and communities warrants attention. Research in

this area has been, however, mostly limited to describing their impact on drug use (Reinarman,

Cohen, & Kaal, 2004; Shi, Lenzi, & An, 2015; Simons-Morton, Pickett, Boyce, Ter Bogt, &

Vollebergh, 2010; Vuolo, 2013).

With respect to comparing drug policies and their impact on the market, Scott Jacques and his

colleagues have recently analyzed the different rates of victimization and violent retaliation on three

types of markets in Amsterdam—regulated, decriminalized, and illegal ones (Jacques, Rosenfeld,

Wright, & Gemert, 2016). Their findings reflect the body of research from the United States demon-

strating thecorrelation between theintensity of drug law enforcementand the increase in othertypes of

crime (Benson,2009; Rasmussen,Benson, & Sollars, 1993;Reuter & Kleiman, 1986)or the findings on

the limitedpower of restrictive deterrenceto affect drug markets(Moeller, Copes, & Hochstetler,2016).

Research has also suggested that under a more punitive drug policy, drug sellers minimize their

risk of detection by selling to a limited number of users who, consequently, purchase drugs for their

fellow users and friends (Belackova & Zabransky, 2016). While the phenomenon in which “friends

buy drugs from friends” and without profit as “social supply” has been well recorded (Coomber,

Moyle, & South, 2015), more research is needed that could demonstrate whether and how this

behavior responds to drug policy.

The severity of legal sanctions and their enforcement can also influence the decision to cultivate

cannabis for personal use and the extent of self-supply among cannabis users varies across different

countries. In Europe, up to 10%of cannabis users engage in cannabis cultivation for their own use

(Trautmann, Kilmer, & Turnbull, 2013); in the United States, prior to several of its states introducing

medicinal cannabis programs or regulated markets, only 1%of cannabis users admitted to having grown

their own cannabis (Caulkins & Pacula, 2006). A study comparing the incentives to grow cannabis for

personal use in the Czech Republic and in the Netherlands suggested that law enforcement can influence

this behavior, along with cultural and economic factors (Belackova, Maalste´, Zabransky, & Grund, 2015).

Another interesting question is whether drug policy can influence the quality and safety of

cannabis. In the United States, a slight increase in the potency of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) in

cannabis was shown to be linked to the introduction of medicinal cannabis laws (Sevigny, Pacula, &

Heaton, 2014). Medicinal cannabis was demonstrated to contain fewer harmful adulterants than

illegally produced cannabis (Hazekamp, 2006), but the recently legalized cannabis markets do not

seem to perform that well with regard to the detected levels of pesticide use (Subritzky, Pettigrew, &

Lenton, 2017). While the content of cannabidiol (CBD), another constituent present in some can-

nabis strains with demonstrated potential to preserve mental health (Morgan & Curran, 2008) might

be high in medicinal cannabis products (Mammen, Freitas, Rehm, & Rueda, 2017), it is likely to be

negligible on the illegal market (Swift, Wong, Li, Arnold, & McGregor, 2013).

This article sets out to assess the features of cannabis markets in two states with nuanced cannabis

policies - the Czech Republic, recently known as Czechia (CZ) and New South Wales, Australia

(NSW). An overview of the relevant differences and similarities can be found in Table 1 and is

described below.

Cannabis Markets in the CZ and in NSW, Australia

In 2012, 9.2%of the Czech population (sized approximately 10 million in total) reported having

used cannabis in the past 12 months (15%reported that in 2008). In Australia, a 2013 national

Belackova et al. 207