Cannabis Cultivation Research Articles

On the money: characterizing banking and lending in the California cannabis industry

PurposeDespite 2016 legalization of recreational cannabis cultivation and sale in California with the passage of Proposition 64, many cannabis businesses operate without licenses. Furthermore, federal regulations disincentivize financial institutions from banking and lending to licensed cannabis businesses. The authors explore the impact of legal cannabis business activity on California financial institutions, the barriers to banking faced by cannabis businesses, and the nontraditional sources of financing used by the industry.Design/methodology/approachThe authors use a mixed methods approach. The authors utilize call data for banks and credit unions headquartered in California and state cannabis licensing data to estimate the impact of the extensive and intensive margins of licensed cannabis activity on key banking indicators using difference-and-difference and fixed effects regressions. The qualitative data come from interviews with industry stakeholders in northern California's “Emerald Triangle” and add important context.FindingsThe quantitative results show economically and statistically significant impacts of licensed cannabis activity on banking indicators, suggesting both direct and spillover effects from cannabis activity to the financial sector. However, cannabis businesses report substantial barriers to accessing basic financial services and credit, leading to nontraditional financing arrangements.Practical implicationsThe results suggest opportunities for cannabis businesses and financial institutions if regulations are eased and important avenues for further study.Originality/valueThe authors contribute to the nascent literature on cannabis economics and the literature on banking regulation and nontraditional finance.

Cultivation of cannabis other than industrial hemp for pharmaceutical industry against the background of polish and foreign regulations

The subject of this article is an overview of legal regulations in the cultivation and processing of cannabis other than industrial cannabis (hemp) in selected countries and a comparison of them with the law currently in force in Poland. The article is an attempt to initiate a discussion on the legitimacy of conducting the legislative process, with due caution and all necessary safety measures, as a result of which legal solutions allowing legal cultivation of cannabis for the pharmaceutical industry in Poland could be created

The spatial overlap of small‐scale cannabis farms with aquatic and terrestrial biodiversity

AbstractThe rapid expansion of cannabis agriculture in the Western United States provides a rare opportunity to study how an abrupt change in land‐use policy affects local biodiversity. There is broad speculation that cannabis production on private land is expanding and having negative effects on aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems, yet there exist little empirical data to evaluate this concern. In this study, we mapped and characterized outdoor cannabis production during the first season of legal recreational production (2016) in a large legacy cannabis‐producing region of Southern Oregon, Josephine County. We descriptively compared cannabis farms to all available private parcels based on proximity to rivers/streams and undeveloped land and their overlap with carnivore richness. Using publicly available satellite imagery, we found approximately 1.34 km2 (331 acres) of cannabis cultivation within Josephine County during the first season of legal recreational production. Most cannabis production areas were small (median size 414 m2), spatially clustered at all observed scales, and recently established (67% were not visible in 2013–2014 pre‐legalization). When compared with all available private parcels, cannabis was preferentially located in forested areas, undeveloped land and slightly closer to rivers. Within riparian areas, farms were slightly closer to rivers with predicted occurrence of coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch). While projected carnivore richness was similar between cannabis and all private parcels, projected fisher (Pekania pennanti) occupancy was more than five times higher on cannabis farms, with a median occupancy of 0.69 (interquartile range: 0.24–0.87). Our results establish a baseline for cannabis land cover at the time of early recreational legalization and rapid expansion and can be used to predict future patterns or ecological consequences of cannabis development in other production areas. Understanding the potential ecological impact of cannabis is increasingly important as legalization expands and may also offer insights into other rural land‐use change frontiers.

Cannabis cultivation as a factor influencing scholastic performance

The secondary school performance of Ghomara’s students (coastal area of Chefchaouen province, Rif Mountain, Morocco) is deeply influenced by the cultivation of cannabis practiced by many Ghomarian families. To highlight this relationship, a field study was conducted with students, their parents, and other stakeholders through the adoption of a quantitative and qualitative sociological approach. It then appears that most of the students, especially boys, from cannabis families had annual averages assessment marks (AAM) less than 10/20. These marks do not allow them to continue their schooling. In addition, other factors are added to aggravate the already precarious situation, such as the need for manpower to carry out family farming activities, the social reluctance towards education, the inadequacy of education system to the labour market and the mistrust of the local population to the reforms of the national education system recently proposed by the government.

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.

Towards social justice and economic empowerment? Exploring Jamaica’s progress with implementing cannabis law reform

The Dangerous Drugs Amendment Act (DDAA) 2015 positioned Jamaica at the forefront of international cannabis law reforms in the developing world. The DDAA legalised and regulated commercial cultivation and sale of cannabis for medicinal and therapeutic use, legalised home cultivation and decriminalised personal possession of cannabis. This dramatic policy change came after years of discriminatory drug law enforcement and multiple attempts at cannabis law reform motivated by social justice and cannabis activism. Drawing on ethnographic observations of the implementation of the DDAA and interviews with key cannabis policy stakeholders in Jamaica, we discuss the extent to which the social justice ideals behind the law have translated into practice on the ground. Our analysis focuses on two dimensions of social justice relevant in drug law reform: (1) penalisation and criminal record expungement policies, and (2) economic empowerment and the distribution of wealth (ie the diversity within the new cannabis industry and the transition of traditional illegal ganja farmers to the new legal cannabis economy). Reflecting on the first five years of implementing the DDAA in Jamaica, we explore social justice achievements under the DDAA and discuss persisting structural barriers to economic justice and how they could be addressed.

Cannabis detection from optical and RADAR data fusion: A comparative analysis of the SMILE machine learning algorithms in Google Earth Engine

Accurate crop mapping for agricultural monitoring requires the use of robust image classification algorithms. Cultivation of illegal cannabis is common in the Bekaa plain, Lebanon, as in some other areas of the world (Morocco, Afghanistan). Identification of cultivation sites is money and time consuming since it highly relies on knowledge of cultivation areas and field surveys. Machine-learning-based image classification provides an alternative method for cannabis detection. This paper presents a comparative analysis of four machine-learning classifiers implemented in Google Earth Engine: Random Forest (RF), Gradient Boosting (GBT), Classification and Regression Tree (CART), and Support Vector Machine (SVM) for cannabis and other crop type classification. We implement and test several image fusion approaches for optical (Sentinel-2, Landsat) and Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) imagery (Sentinel-1) along with several combinations of surface textural features from Sentinel-1. Six different crop groups were classified over three years (2016, 2017, and 2018) in the Bekaa valley of Lebanon. In general, although SVM outperformed RF, GBT, and CART classifiers with an overall classification accuracy of more than 90%, RF and GBT provided more consistent results in terms of the cannabis cultivated area. SVM appears to be sensitive to the size of the training data. RF and GBT estimate an average cannabis area of 2800 ha in 2016, 2983 ha in 2017, and 5900 ha in 2018. Our results demonstrate that the fusion of radar and optical imagery can improve image classification accuracy by up to 5%. A marginal improvement in overall accuracy was observed when textural features were added. This is the first study that used image fusion and ML to estimate illegal cannabis cultivation areas in Lebanon and help evaluate the contribution of cannabis to the local economy. The combination of machine learning algorithms and imagery fusion proved reliable for crop classification in general and cannabis in particular.

Acidic Cannabinoid Decarboxylation.

Introduction:Cannabis is a valuable plant, cultivated by humans for millennia. However, it has only been in the past several decades that biologists have begun to clarify the interesting Cannabis biosynthesis details, especially the production of its fascinating natural products termed acidic cannabinoids. Discussion: Acidic cannabinoids can experience a common organic chemistry reaction known as decarboxylation, transforming them into structural analogues referred to as neutral cannabinoids with far different pharmacology. This review addresses acidic and neutral cannabinoid structural pairs, when and where acidic cannabinoid decarboxylation occurs, the kinetics and mechanism of the decarboxylation reaction as well as possible future directions for this topic. Conclusions: Acidic cannabinoid decarboxylation is a unique transformation that has been increasingly investigated over the past several decades. Understanding how acidic cannabinoid decarboxylation occurs naturally as well as how it can be promoted or prevented during harvesting or storage is important for the various stakeholders in Cannabis cultivation.

In Case You Haven't Heard…

Warwick, New York, will have a cannabis cultivation site soon, with construction already underway by Green Thumb Industries of Chicago. The location is on the site of a former prison, where there is already a greenhouse and processing facility. The company has invested $150 million to remodel the site, which will create 100 construction jobs and 100 permanent positions with benefits, according to an article in the Sept. 9 Times‐Union. Green Thumb purchased the 40 acres of former prison grounds for $3.3 million in May, after Orange County approved a 15‐year tax abatement. The $3.3 million covered the town's remaining debt on the cost of the purchase of the prison property from the state. The town is not ready, however, to allow on‐site cannabis consumption at its cafes or to allow marijuana dispensaries at all.

Distribution of trespass cannabis cultivation and its risk to sensitive forest predators in California and Southern Oregon.

Illegal cannabis cultivation on public lands has emerged as a major threat to wildlife in California and southern Oregon due to the rampant use of pesticides, habitat destruction, and water diversions associated with trespass grow sites. The spatial distribution of cultivation sites, and the factors influencing where they are placed, remain largely unknown due to covert siting practices and limited surveillance funding. We obtained cannabis grow-site locality data from law enforcement agencies and used them to model the potential distribution of cultivation sites in forested regions of California and southern Oregon using maximum entropy (MaxEnt) methods. We mapped the likely distribution of trespass cannabis cultivation sites and identified environmental variables influencing where growers establish their plots to better understand the cumulative impacts of trespass cannabis cultivation on wildlife. We overlaid the resulting grow-site risk maps with habitat distribution maps for three forest species of conservation concern: Pacific fisher (Pekania pennanti), Humboldt marten (Martes caurina humboldtensis), and northern spotted owl (Strix occidentalis caurina). Results indicate that cannabis cultivation is fairly predictably distributed on public lands in low to mid-elevation (~800-1600m) forests and on moderate slopes (~30-60%). Somewhat paradoxically, results also suggest that growers either preferred sites inside of recently disturbed vegetation (especially those burned 8-12 years prior to cultivation) or well outside (>500m) of recent disturbance, perhaps indicating avoidance of open edges. We ground-truthed the model by surveying randomly selected stream courses for cultivation site presence in subsets of the modeling region and found previously undiscovered sites mostly within areas with predicted high likelihood of grow-site occurrence. Moderate to high-likelihood areas of trespass cultivation overlapped with 40 to 48% of modeled habitats of the three sensitive species. For the endangered southern Sierra Nevada fisher population, moderate-high likelihood growing areas overlapped with over 37% of modeled fisher denning habitat and with 100% of annual female fisher home ranges (mean overlap = 48.0% + 27.0 SD; n = 134) in two intensively studied populations on the Sierra National Forest. Locating and reclaiming contaminated cannabis grow sites by removing all environmental contaminants should be a high priority for resource managers.

Recent applications of chromatography for analysis of contaminants in cannabis products: a review.

In the last few years, the cultivation of cannabis has been increasing due to greater use in foods, recreational use, creams, oils, and other applications. Thus, analysis of contaminants (e.g. pesticides and mycotoxins) in cannabis products is necessary to ensure consumer safety. This review is focused on the analytical procedures, based on chromatographic techniques, used for the determination of contaminants in cannabis and related products, developed from 2015 to 2020. QuEChERS (acronym of quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged and safe) was mainly used for the extraction of pesticides and other contaminants from cannabis because its versatility and capacity to extract a wide range of substances, and therefore, increasing the scope of the analysis. The most employed technique to determine pesticides and mycotoxins in cannabis products was liquid chromatography (LC) coupled to mass spectrometry (MS), although gas chromatography (GC) coupled to MS was also employed for the analysis of non-polar compounds, using triple quadrupole (QqQ) as mass analyzer. Nevertheless, new advances in cannabis analysis are also discussed, introducing techniques such as high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS), which allows for performing both targeted and untargeted (unknown and suspect) analyses. © 2021 Society of Chemical Industry.

The overview of existing knowledge on medical cannabis plants growing

The use of cannabis for medicinal purposes dates back well before the era of modern medicine, but in recent years research into the use of medical cannabis in the medical and pharmaceutical sciences has grown significantly. In European countries, most cannabis plants have been and still are grown for industrial purposes. For this reason, hemp cultivation technology is relatively well researched, while little is known about the key factors affecting cannabis cultivation for medical purposes. The active substances of cannabis plant targeted by this review are called phytocannabinoids. The biosynthesis of phytocannabinoids is relatively well understood, but the specific environmental factors that influence the type and number of phytocannabinoids have been much less studied. Indoor or greenhouse cultivation, which uses automated lighting, ventilation, irrigation systems and complex plant nutrition has become much more sophisticated and appears to be the most effective method for producing medical cannabis. There are many different cultivation systems for cannabis plants, but one of the essential elements of the process is an optimal plant nutrition and selection of fertilisers to achieve it. This review summarises the existing knowledge about phytocannabinoid biosynthesis and the conditions suitable for growing plants as sources of medical cannabis. This review also attempts to delineate how nutrient type and bioavailability influences the synthesis and accumulation of specific phytocannabinoids based on contemporary knowledge of the topic.

Drug use in Canadian patients with trauma after cannabis legalization

Background:The federal Cannabis Act came into force on Oct. 17, 2018, in Canada, making Canada only the second country in the world to legalize the cultivation, acquisition, possession and consumption of cannabis and its by-products. This provided a unique opportunity to evaluate the impact of this legislation on drug-related trauma.Methods:We performed a prospective observational study on the use of cannabis and other illicit drugs in the trauma population at a lead Canadian trauma centre in London, Ontario, in the 3 months before (July 1 to Sept. 30, 2018) and 3 months after (Nov. 1, 2018, to Jan. 31, 2019) the legalization of cannabis in Canada. We defined cannabis use as a positive cannabinoid screen result at the time of assessment by the trauma team. We also screened for opioids, amphetamines and cocaine.Results:A total of 210 patients were assessed by our trauma service between July 1 and Sept. 30, 2018, and 141 patients were assessed between Nov. 1, 2018, and Jan. 31, 2019. Motor vehicle collisions were the most common cause of trauma both before (101 [48.1%]) and after (67 [47.5%]) legalization. The mean Injury Severity Score was 17.6 (standard deviation [SD] 13.0) and 19.7 (SD 14.8), respectively. Drug screens were done in 88 patients (41.9%) assessed before legalization and 99 patients (70.2%) assessed after legalization. There was no difference in the rate of positive cannabinoid screen results before and after legalization (22 [25%] v. 22 [22%]). There was a trend toward higher rates of positive cannabinoid screen results (2/10 [20%] v. 5/8 [62%]) and positive toxicology screen results (5/10 [50%] v. 6/8 [75%]) after legalization among patients with penetrating trauma, but our sample was too small to achieve statistical significance.Conclusion:We found no difference in the rates of positive cannabinoid screen results among patients assessed at our trauma centre in the 3 months before and the 3 months after legalization of cannabis; however, there was a trend toward an increase in the rates of positive results of toxicology screens and cannabinoid screens among those with penetrating trauma. These preliminary single-centre data showing no increased rates of cannabis use in patients with trauma after legalization are reassuring.

Toxicological aspects of cannabinoid, pesticide and metal levels detected in light Cannabis inflorescences grown in Italy

Recently, the cultivation of light Cannabis, with a total THC content less than 0.6%, has been encouraged due to its industrial and therapeutic potential. This has increased the consumption of hemp for both smoking purposes and food preparation. Even so, Cannabis inflorescences are not subject to EU regulations and standards provided for food and tobacco products. A study was carried out on thirty-one inflorescences samples, collected in different Italian regions, in order to determine cannabinoids, pesticides and metals and to evaluate the exposure of consumers to contaminants and ensure a safe consumption. Contents of THC were always below 0.5%, while CBD ranged between 0.3 and 8.64%. The determination of 154 pesticides showed that 87% of the samples contained fungicides and insecticides in the range 0.01–185 μg/g. The most found are spinosad and cyprodinil. The concentration of metals ranged from 1 to more than 100 μg/g and As, Cd, Co, Cr, Hg, Cu, Mo, Ni and V exceeded the regulatory US limits for inhaled Cannabis products, while Pb exceeded them for both oral and inhaled products. These contaminants are intrinsically toxic and may affect public health. Actions are needed to establish regulatory measures and reduce the adverse effects caused by contaminants in Cannabis.

High rates of anticoagulant rodenticide exposure in California Barred Owls are associated with the wildland–urban interface

Abstract Pesticide use is pervasive and the exposure of non-target wildlife has been well documented over the past half-century. Among pesticides, anticoagulant rodenticides (AR) have emerged as a particularly important threat in forests of the western United States, with exposure and mortality reported for several species of conservation concern. To further quantify this threat, we collected specimens of Barred Owls (Strix varia) and Barred Owl x Spotted Owl hybrids from the Klamath and Cascade Mountains and Sierra Nevada in California, USA to use as indicator species for environmental contamination with AR and to infer exposure of closely related and ecologically similar Northern and California Spotted Owls (S. occidentalis caurina, and S. o. occidentalis, respectively). We tested 115 Barred Owl and 12 Barred Owl x Spotted Owl hybrid livers for 8 AR compounds and found high rates of exposure (62%) across our study area, and greater than previous studies in the Pacific Northwest. In addition, we sampled 7 ovaries from 7 females and 100% tested positive for AR. Female Barred Owls were more likely than males to be exposed (78% and 50%, respectively). Unlike previous studies, we found no clear link between illegal cannabis cultivation and AR exposure. However, Barred Owls sampled in proximity to the wildland–urban interface (WUI) were more likely to be exposed to AR. Though the exact source (e.g., cannabis cultivation or application around human dwellings) and location are unknown, the association of AR exposure with the WUI was supported from GPS data from Barred Owls, Northern and California Spotted Owls, and hybrids using the WUI for foraging. The high rate of AR exposure in Barred Owls and hybrids provides mounting evidence of an additional stressor that ARs may pose to Spotted Owls—including the first evidence for California Spotted Owls—and fauna native to western forest ecosystems.

The Non-punishment Principle and the Obligations of the State Under Article 4 of the European Convention of Human Rights: V.C.L. AND A.N. v the United Kingdom (applications nos.77587/12 and 74603/12)

Keywords Forced labour, right to fair trial, trafficked victims, human rights, criminal procedure, children, cultivation of cannabis, human trafficking, local authorities’ powers and duties

Cannabis farms in California rely on wells outside of regulated groundwater basins

As permitted cannabis farming in California continues to expand statewide, including in ecologically sensitive watersheds, an improved understanding of water-use practices is needed. Existing evidence suggests widespread reliance on groundwater wells for cannabis irrigation may result in streamflow depletion, yet our understanding of where and why well use for cannabis is most prevalent is currently limited. Here, we use California state cannabis permitting data to address four important information gaps regarding well use by cannabis farming: (1) the prevalence of groundwater wells as an irrigation source for regulated cannabis farms statewide, (2) the extent to which groundwater use occurs outside of regulated groundwater basins, (3) the most useful predictors of whether a farm will rely on groundwater for irrigation, and (4) the potential well use from cannabis farms that are currently unpermitted. Well use by cannabis farms is common statewide, with percentages in excess of 75% among permitted farms in nine of the 11 top cannabis producing counties. In eight of these 11 counties, more than one quarter of farms using wells are located outside of groundwater basins subject to state groundwater use regulations. We found that cultivation area size was a positive predictor of well use, while annual precipitation and on-farm stream network density were negative predictors, highlighting the influences of water demand and surface water availability. The output of a machine learning model trained with data from permitted farms in Northern California suggests that the majority (60%) of unpermitted farms are likely to use groundwater wells if they follow the same patterns as the regulated industry. Our results suggest that proactive steps be taken to address groundwater use in cannabis regulations in California and call for further research into the effects of groundwater use on streamflow, especially outside of large groundwater basins.

Sustainabilty status and index of Aceh palm oil in central production of West Region Nagan Raya District

Nagan Raya District as the center of oil palm production in the Western Region of Aceh with an area of 100,547 Ha of oil palm plantations has the power to support Aceh’s economy. Sustainability analysis of Multi Dimensional Scaling using the Rap-Insus Palm Oil technique shows that oil palm plantations in Nagan Raya Regency have a fairly sustainable status. Supporting the sustainability of the economic and environmental dimensions has a fairly sustainable status, but the social and security dimensions are less sustainable. The highest sensitive leverage attributes from the economic dimension was the income of oil palm growers, the social dimension wase coaching in the communities around the plantation companies, the environmental dimension was forest fires, and the security dimension was facilitation of former GAM combatants to become oil palm growers. However, the lowest sensitive leverage attribute of the economic dimension was other economic growth due to oil palm, the social dimension was the K3 program in plantation companies, the environmental dimension was land suitability for oil palm plants, and the security dimension was oil palm in suppressing cannabis cultivation.

The expansion of cannabis cultivation and its impact on the ecological and socio-economic environment in the province of ouezzane :the case of Briksha and Asjen communities

Abstract : The two groups of Abriksha and Asjen, are a mountainous region characterized by geomorphological and ecological diversity. Due to the transitional location of the two groups, between the high mountains of the Rif and the hills of the front Rif, has made it a massive area in which the mountains dominate by 38% in each of the twogroups. The weakness of the local economy also contributed to the two groups degradation, due to their dependence on the agricultural sector, which is characterized by its low profitability, and in the face of demographic growth and limited natural resources, forcing the people of the region to search for new resources that made them accept the cultivation of Hemp weed, which had entered the two groups in the late 1990s.The thing that directly contributed to changing the parameters of the agricultural landscape and affected the social and economic behavior of the two groups' residents. In addition to the deterioration of forest and the soil became more erosive, as for the economic level, it was represented by a rise in the income of families that deal in agriculture and a rise in the price of real estate, with regard to the social level, there has been less teamwork and more conflict over water. In the face of this critical situation, it is necessary to think about the rehabilitation of naturel resources and attention to the economic, social and environmental aspect of the two groups. Keywords: geo-morphological diversity, local economy, hemp plantation,social behavior الملخص : تعد جماعتي ابريكشة وأسجن منطقة جبلية تتميز بالتنوع الجيومرفولوجي واإليكولوجي، فبحكم موقع تراب الجماعتان االنتقالي بين أعالي جبال الريف وتالل مقدمة الريف، جعل منهما نطاقا متضرسا تهيمن فيه الجبال بنسبة 38 .% وساهم كذلك ضعف االقتصاد المحلي بالجماعتين، بفعل اعتمادهما على القطاع الفالحي الذي يتميز بضعف مردوديته، وأمام النمو الديموغرافي ومحدودية الموارد الطبيعية، اضطر سكان المنطقة إلى البحث عن موارد جديدة جعلهم يقبلون على زراعة القنب الهندي الكيف، التي ستدخل إلى الجماعتين في أواخر التسعينات، الشيء الذي ساهم بشكل مباشر في تغيير معالم المشهد الزراعي وأثر على السلوك االجتماعي واالقتصادي لسكان الجماعتين، إضافة إلى تدهور الغابة والتربة التي أصبحت أكثر قابلية للتعرية وازدياد الضغط على الموارد الترابية أما على المستوى االقتصادي فقد تمثل في ارتفاع دخل األسر التي تتعاطى لزراعته وارتفاع ثمن العقار. وفيما يخص المستوى االجتماعي فقد قل العمل الجماعي وكثر الصراع حول الماء، وأمام هذا الوضع المتأزم ومن أجل التخفيف من حدة التعاطي لهذه الزراعة وجب التفكير في تأهيل الموارد الطبيعية واالهتمام بالجانب االقتصادي واالجتماعي والبيئي لسكان الجماعتين. الكلمات المفاتيح : التنوع الجيومرفولوجي- االقتصاد المحلي- زراعة القنب الهندي- السلوك االجتماعي

Perspectives of illicit marijuana growers and traders on commercial legalisation of marijuana in South Africa: considerations for policy formulation

BackgroundOver the years, there has been a clarion call for legalising marijuana cultivation and trading for commercial purposes in South Africa. Proponents of the call argue that the criminalisation of commercial marijuana cultivation and trading has failed to halt illicit marijuana cultivation and trading. However, the views of those who economically benefit from the illicit marijuana trade on its legalisation remain empirically unsolicited.ObjectiveThis study aimed to solicit the views of illegal marijuana growers and traders from two selected communities in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa regarding the commercial legalisation of marijuana cultivation and trading to inform policy on the debate.MethodsIn-depth key informant interview approach was used to interview 18 purposively sampled participants that were selected through the snowball sampling technique. The data were analysed using the thematic content analysis approach.ResultsParticipants had both positive and negative perceptions of the possible legalisation of marijuana cultivation and trading. On the positive side, participants indicated freedom from police, the opportunity to grow marijuana on a larger scale, capital acquisition for commercial marijuana cultivation and trading, and regulation of marijuana prices through unionisation as some of the benefits they would derive from the commercial legalisation of marijuana cultivation and trading. On the negative side, loss of their source of livelihood, fall in the price of marijuana and perceived increase in school drop-out rates were the concerns raised.ConclusionWhile participants relished improvement in their economic fortunes upon commercial legalisation of marijuana cultivation and trading, they were also apprehensive about this policy due to the perceived consequences it may have on their livelihoods and communities. We, therefore, recommend that future discussions of the commercial legalisation of marijuana cultivation and trading in South Africa should be done in consultation with illicit marijuana growers and traders to ensure that their interests are safeguarded by such a policy.