Assesing the users' risks of shift towards indoor cannabis cultivation - the case of the Czech Republic
Abstract
BACKGROUND: In the Czech Republic (CR), cannabis market has developped in three stages: (i) outdoor cultivation and non-market, free of charge (1980 - 1994); (ii) market with imported indoor cannabis (1995 - 2005); (iii) large scale and small scale indoor cannabis cultivation leading to price decrease (2005 - current). AIMS: The aim of the paper is to analyze the risks cannabis users face in terms of using indoor and outdoor cannabis products, in market acquisition in contrast to buying from a grower, and in terms of growing of cannabis per se.
DESIGN: Marijuana market patterns in CR were analyzed via a mixed-methods study among marijuana users, retailers and growers (63 semi-structured interviews, recruited via respondent-driven sampling, and 2 focus groups). The interviews took 69 minutes on average, and probed on concepts from economic theory.
Qualitative analysis was complemented with quantitative research findings (representative population survey with specific set of questions on marijuana acquisitions for the last 12 months cannabis users). FINDINGS: Cannabis users identified the risks of excess consumption related to outdoor product, indoor products have the risk of combination with tobacco and use of adulterants.
The risks related to market acquistions were such that no information on strain and quality is known, and profits to distributors are large; but when purchasing from the grower, there is no variability. When growing outdoors, there are risks of theft, while indoor growing has high fixed costs and risks of prosecution.
CONCLUSIONS: Cannabis market has reduced the risks to users in the past decade; still cannabis policy in CR only acknowledges cannabis self-supply. Acquistions through chains with low risks shall be priviledged for their low risks.