Illegal Cannabis Research Articles

Thanks a Lot, Universe by Chad Lucas

Reviewed by: Thanks a Lot, Universe by Chad Lucas Elizabeth Bush Lucas, Chad Thanks a Lot, Universe. Amulet/Abrams, 2021 [288p] Trade ed. ISBN 9781419751028 $16.99 E-book ed. ISBN 9781647001346 $15.29 Reviewed from digital galleys Ad Gr. 5-7 Brian has hit the lowest point in his thirteen years. Dad has left their Nova Scotian town in a hurry, wanted by the police for his illegal cannabis business; Mom is in the hospital following a suicide attempt; and now Brian, who suffers from social anxiety, and his younger brother have entered the foster care system. Brian’s coping strategy is to break out of his shell with a vengeance, beating up a school bully, running away with his brother on a stolen credit card, and stonily opposing any adult who tries to help (“I officially Did Not Care anymore. . . . I had found my fortress and unlocked Ice Mode. And it ruled”). At the same time Ezra, a basketball teammate who runs with a different crew, is beginning to sense fractures among his tight circle of diverse friends as pressure builds to pair up with girlfriends, and racial microaggressions toward the Black kids can no longer be explained away as jokes. That Ezra and Brian are destined for friendship is the foregone conclusion at the heart of this drama, but it’s buried in a muddle of unconvincingly staged melodrama involving a host of savior adults and high school role models, an improbable $10, 000 debit card spending limit, and a 2016 setting that seems necessary only to establish illegal cannabis as a plot catalyst. Lucas concludes with a welcome touch of realism, though, leaving the future of the boys’ relationship on hold: Ezra admits to his crush on Brian, while Brian keeps an open mind and heart but isn’t quite ready for romance with anybody at present. Readers who keep focused on that plotline may be satisfied. [End Page 386] Copyright © 2021 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois

The impact of legalization of access to recreational Cannabis on Canadian medical users with Cancer

BackgroundCanada legalized cannabis use for medical purposes in 1999. Legalization of cannabis for recreational purposes in October 2018 offered the opportunity to assess the impact of recreational legalization on cancer patients’ patterns of use to identify learning points that could be helpful to other countries considering similar legislation.MethodTwo identical anonymous cross-sectional surveys were administered to cancer patients in British Columbia 2 months before and 3 months following legalization, with the same eligibility criteria.The prevalence of medical cannabis use, the distribution of symptoms leading to use, the most common types of cannabis products and sources, reasons for stopping using cannabis, and barriers to access were assessed.ResultsThe overall response rate was 27%. Both cohorts were similar regarding age (median = 66 yrs), gender (53% female), and education (approximately 85% of participants had an education level of high school graduation and higher). Respondents had multiple motives for taking cannabis, including to manage multiple symptoms, to treat cancer, and for recreational reasons. The majority of patients in both surveys did not use the legal medical access system.Comparison of the two cohorts showed that after legalization the prevalence of current cannabis use increased by 26% (23·1% to 29·1%, p-value 0·01), including an increased disclosure of recreational motive for use, from 32 to 40%. However, in the post-legalization cohort more Current Users reported problems getting cannabis (18%) than the pre-legalization cohort (8%), (p-value < 0·01). The most common barrier cited was lack of available preferred products, including edibles, as these were only available from illegal dispensaries.ConclusionsResults showed that legalization of cannabis for recreational purposes may have an impact on those who use medical cannabis. Impacts include an increase in prevalence of use; problems accessing preferred products legally; higher cost, and difficulties using a legal access system. The desired goal of regulation in reducing harms from use of illegal cannabis products are unlikely to be achieved if the legal process is less attractive to patients than use of illegal sources.

Medicinal cannabis in Thailand: 1-year experience after legalization.

Medicinal cannabis in Thailand: 1-year experience after legalization.

The Tax Consequences of Legal Cannabis

We explore the tax revenue consequences of legalizing recreational cannabis in Canada. We build, calibrate, and simulate a two-level nested demand model in which legal and illegal cannabis are differentiated products and that incorporates econometric estimates of critical parameters. First, we find that sales tax and excise tax revenues accruing from legalization may be fully offset by declines in revenues from alcohol and tobacco. Second, and in contrast to excise and sales tax revenue, new revenue will accrue from personal income and corporate profits taxes. Using some available information on the wage structure of cannabis-producing corporations and imposing a Pareto distribution on incomes within the industry, we obtain an estimate of personal income tax revenues. To compute corporate profits tax revenue, we use priors on labour and capital shares and simulate the results of assumptions of debt leverage. We also estimate the private dollar value of legalization to individuals using a utility function approach. Per user, our results suggest a value roughly equal to $500 per annum. The results of this study may carry over to high-sin-tax economies contemplating legalization.

Discrimination of legal and illegal Cannabis spp. according to European legislation using near infrared spectroscopy and chemometrics.

Aerial parts containing cannabidiol can be purchased in a legal way but cannabis used as recreational drug is illegal in most European countries. Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol is one of the main cannabinoids responsible for the psychotropic effect. European Union countries and Switzerland authorize a concentration of THC of 0.2 % and 1.0 % w/w, respectively, for smoking products and industrial hemp. Public health inspectors and law enforcement officers need to check the legality of samples. Therefore there is a need for innovative approaches, allowing quality control of these products in an easy way and preferably on site. In many countries, cultivation of industrial hemp is permitted if the THC content does not exceed 0.2 % w/w. A portable equipment could be a useful measuring tool for farmers to check for the THC content at regular time. In this work, 189 samples were analysed with a benchtop and a handheld NIR device in order to create two classification methods according to European and Swiss laws. All samples were also analysed by GC-FID to determine their THC concentration. Supervised analysis was applied in order to establish the best model. For the first classification, the accuracy was 91% for the test set with the benchtop data and 93 % for the test set with the handheld data. For the second classification, the accuracies were respectively 91 % and 95 %. The obtained models, hyphenating spectroscopic techniques and chemometrics, enable to discriminate legal and illegal cannabis samples according to European and Swiss laws.

Phytochemical profile of cannabis plant: A review

Cannabis plant is increasingly becoming a topic of public discussion. All efforts by United Nations Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs (UNODC) have triggered a major obstacle for cannabis to be seen for its medicinal potentials. However, over the years, illegal cannabis consumption has grown making users’ cannabis dependent. Cannabis dependency affects the users’ brain and body, initiating side effects which pose risk of survival, attacking the Central Nervous System, responsible for sanity and co-ordination. Cannabis contains more than 400 bioactive constituents worthy of investigation. Neurological disorder caused by cannabis dependency is associated with its primary constituent THC, tetrahydrocannabinol. This compound increases the dopamine level of the brain. This paper is expected to contribute a more rational approach involving the use of dopamine antagonist as a cure to cannabis dependency.

Initial indicators of the public health impacts of non-medical cannabis legalization in Canada

Initial indicators of the public health impacts of non-medical cannabis legalization in Canada

Δ9-Tetrahydrocannabinol and Cannabidiol Time Courses in the Sera of "Light Cannabis" Smokers: Discriminating Light Cannabis Use from Illegal and Medical Cannabis Use.

Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD) time courses in serum and physiological and behavioral effects associated with smoking 1 or 4 "light cannabis" cigarettes were studied. Biomarkers to differentiate light cannabis versus illegal and medical cannabis use were also investigated. Sera were obtained at different times from 6 healthy light cannabis consumers and 6 individuals who smoked 1 and 4 cigarettes, within 4 hours through a liquid-liquid method and analyzed by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. In serum, minimal THC concentration was observed after a single cigarette smoke, while repeated smoking increased it by 1 order of magnitude. CBD concentrations were higher, but did not increase linearly, probably because it does not preferentially volatilize compared with THC. The highest THC and CBD concentrations were observed 0.5 hours after the start of the smoking of 1 cigarette. Serum THC ranged from 2.7 to 5.9 ng/mL, while serum CBD varied from 5.7 to 48.2 ng/mL. Similarly, the highest THC and CBD concentrations were observed 0.5 hours after the smoking of 4 cigarettes. Specifically, the ranges were THC: 11.0-21.8 ng/mL and CBD: 19.4-35.3 ng/mL. In both cases, the mean THC/CBD concentration ratio ranged from 0.2 to 0.9. There were no significant changes in blood pressure, heart rate, and body temperature, but participants who smoked 4 cigarettes experienced severe drowsiness. THC and CBD time courses in the sera of light cannabis smokers were similar to those previously observed in oral fluid and blood. Serum THC/CBD concentration ratio not higher than the mean value of 0.9 might be a useful biomarker to identify use of light cannabis versus that of illegal THC cannabis (where THC/CBD concentration ratios are generally greater than 10) or versus that of medical cannabis (where ratios are greater than 1). Consumers should be advised of possible drowsiness after he repeated smoking of light cannabis cigarettes.

Prevalence and forms of cannabis use in legal vs. illegal recreational cannabis markets

BackgroundRecreational or ‘non-medical cannabis’ has been legalized in several US states, and was legalized federally in Canada in October 2018. There is little comparative data on product use across jurisdictions, particularly with respect to the types of cannabis products used, which differentially impact health. MethodsData are from Wave 1 of the International Cannabis Policy Study, collected from Aug 27–Oct 7, 2018. Respondents (n = 27,024) aged 16–65 completed an online survey measuring patterns of cannabis use, quantities and routes of administration. Respondents were recruited from Canada (n = 9976) and US states that had (n = 7362) and had not (n = 9686) legalized non-medical cannabis (‘legal’ and ‘illegal’ states, respectively). ResultsPrevalence of at least daily, weekly, and monthly cannabis use were significantly higher in US ‘legal’ states (11.3%, 18.2%, 25.0%, respectively) than US ‘illegal’ states (7.4%, 11.6%, 16.8%, respectively; p<0.001) and Canada (8.9%, 14.1%, 19.0%, respectively; p ≤ 0.01). Dried herb was the dominant form of cannabis reported by past 12-month users across all jurisdictions (77.7%–80.8%). Although the amount of dried herb used per year did not differ by jurisdiction (range: 210.3–229.4 g), those in US ‘legal’ states were significantly more likely to use dried herb daily or weekly than were those in ‘illegal’ states and Canada (p<0.001). Use of cannabis concentrates, vaped oils, edibles, and drinks was more prevalent among US ‘legal’ states than ‘illegal’ states and Canada (p ≤ 0.001). Vaping dried herb was more common in both legal and illegal US jurisdictions than in Canada (p<0.05), whereas Canadians were more likely to smoke dried herb with tobacco (p<0.001). ConclusionThe prevalence of cannabis use—and use of products such as cannabis concentrates, edibles and drinks—was higher in US states that had legalized cannabis. Additional longitudinal research is required to determine whether these differences reflect causal effects of legalization or pre-existing secular trends.

Cannabis legalization by states reduces illegal growing on US national forests

Ten US states and the District of Columbia have legalized cannabis as of November 2018, and have adopted other policies regarding production, consumption, and the penalties associated with it. These policy changes may have affected illegal growing operations on national forests of the United States. Using data on the number of cannabis grow sites reported on 111 national forests between 2004 and 2016 together with information about state cannabis laws and when they were implemented, we find that recreational cannabis legalization is associated with decreased reports of illegal grow operations on national forests. Laws mandating minimum sentences for illegal cannabis possession or sales are associated with fewer reported grows, as is strict regulation of cannabinoid products. Taxes on sales have positive impacts on illegal growing, while law enforcement presence has a negative effect. Counterfactual simulations for 2016 quantify the magnitudes of these policy effects.

Illegal cannabis use is common among Danes with multiple sclerosis

BackgroundUse of cannabis to alleviate multiple sclerosis (MS)-related symptoms is increasing. Due to strict regulations, only a minority of MS patients receive cannabis-based prescription drugs. The extent of recreational and medical cannabis use among Danes with MS is unknown. Our aim was to evaluate the prevalence of illegal and legal use of cannabis in MS patients, as well as reasons for use and perceived adverse effects. MethodsAn anonymous questionnaire was sent to all 3606 patients at the Danish Multiple Sclerosis Center, Rigshospitalet, University of Copenhagen. The questionnaire included questions about sociodemographic factors, clinical characteristics and medical or recreational cannabis use. ResultsQuestionnaires were completed by 2244/3606 (62%), of which 2009 questionnaires from patients with MS or clinical isolated syndrome (CIS) were valid for analysis. Forty-nine percent (980/2009) had used cannabis at least once. Cannabis was used within the past year (current user) by 21%, and only 21% of those received prescribed cannabis-based medicine. Recreational use was reported by 17%. The primary reasons for use were to alleviate pain (61%), spasticity (52%) and sleep disturbances (46%). The most common adverse effects were drowsiness (30%), feeling quiet/subdued (23%) and dizziness (13%). Almost half (44%) of the non-cannabis users would consider use of cannabis to alleviate MS symptoms if the drug was legalized. ConclusionThis study shows that illegal cannabis use is common among Danes with MS as only 21% of the current cannabis users received prescribed cannabis-based medicine. Current cannabis users reported high efficacy in relieving pain, spasticity and sleep disturbances. In addition, only mild to moderate severity of adverse effects were reported. To the best of our knowledge, this is the most comprehensive survey of cannabis use among MS patients.

THC and CBD concentrations in blood, oral fluid and urine following a single and repeated administration of "light cannabis".

Background "Light cannabis" is a product legally sold in Europe with Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) concentration lower than 0.2% and variable cannabidiol (CBD) content. We studied THC and CBD excretion profiles in blood, oral fluid (OF) and urine after smoking one or four light cannabis cigarettes. Methods Blood, OF and urine samples were obtained from six healthy light cannabis consumers after smoking one 1 g cigarette containing 0.16% THC and 5.8% CBD and from six others after smoking four 1 g cigarettes within 4 h. Sample collection began 0.5 and 4.5 h after smoking one or four cigarettes, respectively. Cannabinoid concentrations were quantified by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Results At the first collection, the highest THC and CBD concentrations occurred in blood (THC 7.0-10.8 ng/mL; CBD 30.2-56.1 ng/mL) and OF (THC 5.1-15.5 ng/mL; CBD 14.2-28.1 ng/mL); similar results occurred 0.5 h after the last of four cigarettes in blood (THC 14.1-18.2 ng/mL, and CBD 25.6-45.4 ng/mL) and OF (THC 11.2-24.3 ng/mL; CBD 14.4-37.0 ng/mL). The mean OF to blood ratio ranged from 0.6 to 1.2 after one and 0.6 to 1.9 after four light cannabis cigarettes. THC/CBD ratios in blood and OF were never greater than 2. Urinary 11-nor-9-carboxy-THC concentrations peaked 8 h after one and four cigarettes. Conclusions OF was a valuable alternative to blood in monitoring consumption of light cannabis. Blood and OF THC/CBD concentration ratios, never exceeded 2, possibly providing a useful biomarker to identify light cannabis vs illegal higher THC cannabis use, where THC/CBD ratios are generally greater than 10.

American Weed: A History of Cannabis Cultivation in the United States

The illegal cultivation of cannabis in the United States has a long history, the weight of which is currently propelling a number of US states to legalize and regulate the plant after more than eighty years of outright prohibition. While each region has its own distinct history with the crop, this article outlines the history of cannabis cultivation in three parts of the country – the Midwest, South, and West – in an attempt to map out the driving social, economic, geographic, and environmental forces of illegal (and in some cases, legal) cannabis cultivation in the United States. Understanding how the US became one of the premier cannabis-growing regions of the world in the late twentieth and twenty-first centuries will help scholars pinpoint major themes in the world history of cannabis, such as its adoption and distribution by marginalized peoples, its transnational appeal in a globalized capitalist system, and how the plant embeds itself within the urban and rural ecology of human civilization. With a clearer picture of these themes, cannabis scholarship can better inform future studies, discussions, and public policy related to the plant.

Illegal cannabis cultivation in the world, and as a subject in academic research

Illegal cannabis cultivation as a worldwide phenomenon is the theme of this edition of EchoGeo. As expected, putting together a special issue on illegal cannabis cultivation in the world is challenging since very few scholars conduct on-location research on cultivation specifically and also because very few authors have in-depth knowledge of the plant’s history, botany, agronomy, or even industry. This is, of course, because most of the world’s drug cannabis has long been and is still cultiva...

Illegal cannabis cultivation in Europe: new developments

Herbal cannabis is one of the most consumed illegal drugs in Europe, with increasing local production. Illicit cannabis cultivation is not new to Western Europe. It first emerged on the scene in the 1970s, in the wake of the counter-culture following the 1968 Protests. Since then, it has gradually become more professional due to the increased diversification of involved actors, such as Organized Crime Groups (OCG), and the growing role of players linked to mafia organizations in both Italy and Albany. In Spain and France, where Moroccan resin has long dominated supply and demand, the cannabis market has seen a rise in herbal cannabis production. This, in turn, challenges the role of OCGs invested in resin importation. Yet, European marihuana production cannot be defined as a strictly criminal business. Small growers remain significant actors in production. This trend in production must be examined against evolving attitudes towards marihuana at the global level, linked especially to new legislation in the United States and in Canada.

Availability of legalized cannabis reduces demand for illegal cannabis among Canadian cannabis users: evidence from a behavioural economic substitution paradigm.

In the context of cannabis legalization, an important question among clinicians, policymakers, and the public is whether availability of legal cannabis will significantly reduce consumption (demand) of illegal cannabis. Using paradigms from behavioural economics, we tested the prediction that legal cannabis would be an asymmetrical substitute for illegal cannabis, with legal cannabis operating as a superior commodity based on its regulated status. In a sample of 289 adult cannabis users in Ontario, we found evidence of substitutability for both legal and illegal cannabis, but significantly lower substitutability of illegal for legal cannabis, a pattern that was also present for price elasticity (α) and Pmax. Thus, the data indicated asymmetric substitution such that the availability of legal cannabis substantially decreased demand for illegal cannabis, but a significantly smaller effect in reverse. These results suggest that the introduction of legal cannabis into the market may disrupt and reduce illegal purchases, contributing to the reduction of the potential harms associated with the illegal market. However, in revealing price windows in which legal cannabis is preferred over the contraband alternative, these data also have significant implications for pricing policies.

Identity narratives in the face of market competition: the emerging legal medical cannabis market in Canada

As the medical cannabis industry in Canada moved from a single government producer to an open market model in 2014, this paper provides insight into how entrepreneurs from illegal medical cannabis dispensaries, as well as legal licensed producers, protect their position and reputation in this ‘emerging’ market. On the one hand, MCDs are illegal, niche-filling entities that have historically been ‘boxed out’ by the legal framework, trying to survive untouched by enforcement and supported by faithful clientele. Licensed producers (LPs), on the other hand, are new legal entities that follow a strict government regulated framework, and are essentially stepping on their illegal predecessor’s territory. This project draws on 63 in-depth qualitative interviews, when medical cannabis access transitioned to an open market model. In this context, we see that rather than attempts to construct a credible shared identity for legitimacy, the emphasis is on building a distinct identity narrative in the face of market competition. The emergence of legal cannabis markets and the future of cannabis legalization in Canada presents a fruitful avenue for continuing the study of both the micro and macro processes in emerging markets, organizations, and entrepreneurial activities.

Over and under-regulation in the Colorado Cannabis industry – A data-analytic perspective

With the State of California legalizing recreational cannabis sales on January 1, 2018, the regulatory process is once more in the forefront of cannabis research. Colorado, often held up as a model of legalization policy, was the first state to implement retail sale of recreational cannabis on January 1st, 2014. However, a combination of subsequent under-regulation and over-regulation, inconsistently applied across issues such as retail licencing, chemical testing, cannabis derivatives, municipality approval for growers, and financing, have not only held back the industry in Colorado but also negatively impacted public health, oversight, and have potentially increased the availability of illegal cannabis. We argue that a data-analytic approach to the industry is potentially the most effective way to resolve these concerns, since in the absence of consistent and reliable data, policymakers are apt to satisfy individual policy concerns without considering the industry as a whole. In this paper we present a data-analytic framework for the cannabis industry, offering a theoretically-driven justification for our approach, and describe implications for research on drug and information policy. The framework may serve as a model for other states or countries contemplating cannabis legalisation. As four new states legalised recreational cannabis in 2016, the implications of this research for policymakers has dramatically increased.

Agricultural innovations in Morocco’s cannabis industry

BackgroundCannabis cultivation in Morocco’s mountainous Rif region is undergoing its most profound development since mass production of hashish began in the early 1980s. The adoption of high-yielding varieties of cannabis, modern agricultural practices, and modern hashish production techniques began in the mid–2000s and accelerated after the mid-2010s, with the result that more potent and varied cannabis derivatives are now being produced and that increased quantities of highly potent hashish are seized in Europe. MethodsThis research was initiated to answer a simple research question: how, and to what extent, is the illegal cannabis industry modernizing in Morocco, now that we know that it explains the THC increase in hashish seized in Europe? To answer this question in the context of a lack of literature and quantitative data, empirical fieldwork was undertaken in cannabis fields and hashish-producing farms in Morocco in July and October 2017. A mostly qualitative approach to data collection was employed through participatory rural appraisals (discussions, interviews, direct observations). As such, this work builds predominantly upon primary research. ResultsFieldwork showed that, subsequent to very localized, experimental beginnings in the early 2000s, the progressive and varied adoption of agricultural innovations at the cultivation and production stages has spread throughout the Rif during the 2010s. Interviews and direct observations conducted in the field indicate that the ongoing adoption of modern farming techniques has enabled the production of high-quality hashish and potent modern extracts. The still ongoing modernization and professionalization of the Moroccan cannabis industry is a testimony of the country’s leading position in global hashish production. ConclusionWhat the future holds for Moroccan cannabis growers is difficult to predict. How legalization processes manifest themselves in Moroccan and European policies, and how upcoming developments will affect the social, economic, political and ecological stability of the region, remains largely unknown. However, the spread of cannabis cultivation in the Rif is clearly pushing economic and environmental limits, and there is an obvious need for innovations that mitigate such pressures.

A Challenge to Socio-Ecological Resilience: Community Based Resource Management Organizations’ Perceptions and Responses to Cannabis Cultivation in Northern California

Local nonprofit organizations in the Pacific Northwest have stepped up to fill a leadership void in forest management since the Timber Wars of the 1980s and 1990s. Community based resource management groups (CBRM) have focused on stewardship of ecosystem services, and leading efforts to employ local workers to restore forest ecosystems and watershed functions. In Northern California, even as CBRM capacity has grown since the Timber Wars, a new transformative challenge threatens community and landscape adaptive capacity. Cannabis cultivation, which can have significant environmental and social impacts, has become a pervasive economic driver. I used interviews to explore CBRM leaders’ perceptions of environmental and social impacts of cannabis cultivation on their communities, and CBRM groups’ responses to these impacts. Respondents agreed that illegal cannabis cultivation on public land (trespass grows) and partially legalized and often poorly managed cannabis cultivation on private land threatens the progress that CBRM groups have made toward restoring forests and watersheds. They also described changing community relations resulting from the rapid influx of newcomers drawn to the economic opportunity of cannabis cultivation. They discussed wide-ranging approaches CBRM groups are taking to address emerging challenges. These interviews indicate that local partnerships between CBRM groups and government agencies are not sufficient to address the negative impacts of illegal cultivation especially on federal lands. Even if legalization of cannabis succeeds in creating a regulated market for a portion of California’s crop, the enormous national black market may continue to drive illegal cultivation on federal lands and unregulated private holdings. It will take Federal government re-investment in neglected national forests, rural landscapes and communities working to sustain critical ecosystem services, and federal legalization of cannabis to reverse the destruction resulting from illegal cannabis production on public lands.