A STUDY of CANNABIS SOCIAL CLUBS in BELGIUM Insights Into the Supply Model, the Movement, and Its Key Actors
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A STUDY OF CANNABIS SOCIAL CLUBS IN BELGIUM Insights into the supply model, the movement, and its key actors Mafalda Pardal Supervisors: Prof. Dr. Tom Decorte, Prof. Dr. Letizia Paoli (KU Leuven) Dissertation submitted to obtain the academic degree Doctor (Ph.D.) in Criminology Academic year: 2017 - 2018 A STUDY OF CANNABIS SOCIAL CLUBS IN BELGIUM Insights into the supply model, the movement, and its key actors Mafalda Pardal Dissertation submitted to obtain the academic degree Doctor (Ph.D.) in Criminology Supervisors: Prof. dr. Tom Decorte Prof. dr. Letizia Paoli Doctoral Guidance Committee: Prof. dr. Freya Vander Laenen Prof. dr. Beau Kilmer Department of Criminology, Criminal Law and Social Law Ghent University, Belgium Academic year 2017-2018 Acknowledgments Acknowledgments I first learned about Cannabis Social Clubs (CSCs) in 2013 while conducting research at RAND Europe. I was intrigued by both the idea of this cooperative-like, grassroots model of supply for cannabis and by the lack of visibility of the model in the scholarly and policy debates about potential scenarios for cannabis legalization. Five years on, I am very grateful to have had the opportunity to deepen my understanding of the model, and I am deeply indebted to all the Belgian Cannabis Social Club representatives, cannabis growers, members, and all other individuals who have allowed me to enter the Belgian CSC field and tolerated my many questions during the past three years, often in very trying circumstances. Thank you for your trust. It has been a privilege to work under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Tom Decorte and Prof. Dr. Letizia Paoli. Tom, thank you for paving the way for this research project, for your enthusiasm and support throughout, and for the countless moments of discussion and learning on CSCs and cannabis policy. Letizia, thank you for the continued mentoring over the years and for the unfailingly thought-provoking questions at every encounter. I have been fortunate to also count upon the guidance of Prof. Dr. Freya Vander Laenen and Prof. Dr. Beau Kilmer. Thank you for the thoughtful comments throughout the different stages of the project and for taking the time to critically help shape it. I am very grateful to all the colleagues at the Institute for Social Drug Research: Charlotte, Frédérique, Julie, Olga, Marieke, Michelle, Ruben, Wolf. A special thanks to Julie Tieberghien and Frédérique Bawin for finding bridges to the CSC-world. I would also like to express my gratitude to the students who completed their internship at the ISD since 2015, to the Secretariat and to Peter Van Damme. A number of other colleagues have also made important contributions to the development of this work, in discussions at the margins of conferences, by providing feedback on various drafts, or collaborating on side-research projects: Constanza Sánchez, Davide Fortin, Kristy Kruithof, Jonathan Caulkins, Maria Fernanda Boidi, Melissa Bone, Òscar Parés, Pieter Rondelez, Rosario Queirolo, Stijn Hoorens, Timothée Stassin, and Vendula Belackova. Finally, on a more personal note: to Loes, thank you for encouraging me to embark on this endeavour, and for rescuing me from it when needed. To the Motten clan, and my friends here and abroad: thank you. To my family: Muito obrigada, este já está! Mafalda Pardal IC train 1516 Ghent-Hasselt 6 March 2018 3 Summary Summary This doctoral study focuses on the phenomenon of Cannabis Social Clubs (CSCs), understood here as both a model for the supply of cannabis and as a manifestation of the cannabis movement, as well as the key (individual) actors who play a role in its coming to being and further development. The first known CSCs emerged in Spain during the 1990s. These were grassroots initiatives of cannabis users which developed a particular model for the production and distribution of cannabis based on cooperative and non-profit ideas, exploiting a legal loophole in domestic legislation. Following those first initiatives, the CSC model has been adapted and introduced in many other settings, including in Belgium. Typically, CSCs have been described as being registered associations, non-profit, with the cannabis produced (by members of the associations) being distributed exclusively among the registered adult members of the associations. As such, the supply model has been considered a ‘middle-ground’ alternative option, alongside other theoretical or already implemented models of supply (e.g. self-supply, government monopoly, license models, competitive or commercial models). While CSCs’ core goal relates to the supply of cannabis, the associations pursue also the goal of contributing to a reform of cannabis laws that would formally allow and regulate the model of supply the have put forward. In fact, with the exception of Uruguay, no other national jurisdiction has enacted legislation sanctioning CSCs. Most CSCs have been operating in unfavourable legal regimes, and many of their representatives have faced criminal charges. As such, CSCs and other actors within the broader cannabis movement have also taken a varying number of other actions in an attempt to contribute to a legal change. Both perspectives, i.e. a consideration of cannabis markets and the design of supply models, as well as an understanding of social movements’ theoretical perspectives, are mobilized in our analysis. Against this background, and recognizing the as yet limited body of knowledge about the phenomenon, our analysis was driven by the following broad questions: 1) how did CSCs emerge and develop their presence in Belgium?; 2) how are Belgian CSCs structured and how do they organize their activities?; 3) what is the role, profile, and motivation(s) of different individual actors involved with(in) Belgian CSCs?. This inquiry is built on a mixed methods approach (with a qualitative focus), drawing on four major data collection strands: documentary sources (CSCs’ internal documents, and 164 domestic news items), semi- structured interviews among different Belgian CSC actors (n=65), field observations, and an online survey among Belgian CSC members (n=190). In a nutshell, this study found that the activists driving the first CSC initiatives in Belgium succeeded in exploiting a perceived opening in the institutionalized structures, which has since been contained. The movement has remained somewhat divided internally, but transnationally 5 Summary connected to other activists and a range of other actors. The domestic media seems to have played a role in mobilizing participants and has been used by the CSCs to articulate or frame their messages. The CSCs are characterized by some degree of formalization, having produced self-regulatory codes. CSC leaders are central actors within the associations, and cumulate a broad range of functions. In contrast, members’ involvement in the broader repertoire of action of CSCs is rather modest. As a supply model, CSCs seemed to have appealed primarily to regular, middle-class, middle-aged, and male users. Some of the core features of the model as discussed above have been confirmed by our research, but we uncovered also a diversity of other practices, which we sought to capture in a first CSC typology. The study unveiled also the figure of the CSC grower, adding to the existing literature on small-scale cultivators. As such, the study makes a contribution to the criminological literature as well as to expanding social movement studies. It provides also important insights for the further development of cannabis policies. 6 Samenvatting Samenvatting Dit doctoraat focust op Cannabis Social Clubs (CSCs), wat zowel een bevoorradingsmodel voor cannabis als een manifestatie van de cannabisbeweging inhoudt. Daarnaast worden binnen het concept van Cannabis Social Clubs ook de belangrijkste (individuele) actoren die een rol spelen in de opstart en ontwikkeling van de organisatie in acht genomen. In de jaren 1990 ontstonden de eerste gekende CSCs in Spanje. De cannabisgebruikers ondernamen grassroots initiatives en ontwikkelden een specifiek model voor de productie en distributie van cannabis. Dit model baseerde zich op coöperatieve ideeën zonder winstoogmerk, gebruikmakend van de mazen in de nationale wetgeving. Naar het voorbeeld van deze initiële initiatieven, werd het CSC-model in een aangepaste vorm geïntroduceerd in verschillende andere contexten/landen , waaronder in België. CSCs worden doorgaans omschreven als geregistreerde verenigingen zonder winstoogmerk (vzw’s), waarbij de (door de leden) geproduceerde cannabis exclusief verdeeld wordt onder de geregistreerde meerderjarige leden van de associaties. Bijgevolg wordt het bevoorradingsmodel gezien als een alternatieve ‘middenweg’ naast andere theoretische of reeds toegepaste bevoorradingsmodellen (bijv. zelfvoorziening, overheidsmonopolie, vergunningsmodellen, concurrerende of commerciële modellen). Niettegenstaande dat het hoofddoel van CSCs cannabisbevoorrading betreft, pleiten deze associaties ook voor een wijziging van de cannabiswetgeving, waarbij het CSC-model formeel wordt toegelaten en gereguleerd. Met uitzondering van Uruguay zijn er tot op heden geen andere nationale jurisdicties die CSCs wettelijk erkennen. In de huidige context opereren de meeste CSCs in wettelijk ongunstige omstandigheden. Dit heeft in de praktijk onder meer geleid tot strafrechtelijke vervolgingen van vertegenwoordigers van de CSCs. Omwille van hun onzekere wettelijke positie hebben CSCs en andere actoren binnen de bredere cannabisbeweging tal van andere acties gevoerd om te pogen het