ISSN 1606-1691 A cannabis reader: global issues and local experiences 05 06 15 TD-32-07-001-EN-C About the EMCDDA The European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) is one of the European Union’s decentralised agencies. Established in 1993 and based in Lisbon, it is the central source of comprehensive information on drugs and drug addiction in Europe. The EMCDDA collects, analyses and disseminates factual, objective, reliable and comparable information on drugs and drug addiction. In doing so, it provides its audiences with an evidence-based picture of the drug phenomenon at European level. The Centre’s publications are a prime source of information for a wide range of audiences including policy-makers and their advisers; professionals and researchers working in the drugs field; and, more broadly, the media and general public. EMCDDA monographs are comprehensive scientific publications containing thematic papers prepared in the context of the Centre’s activities. Topics cover a wide range of issues relating to science, policy, epidemiology and best EMCDDA practice. MONOGRAPHS A cannabis reader: global issues and local experiences Price (excluding VAT) in Luxembourg: EUR 20 per volume MONOGRAPHS EMCDDA VOL. I VOL. 8 8 I VOLUME EMCDDA MONOGRAPHS A cannabis reader: global issues and local experiences Perspectives on cannabis controversies, treatment and regulation in Europe Editors Sharon Rödner Sznitman, Börje Olsson, Robin Room 8 I VOLUME Legal notice This publication of the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) is protected by copyright. The EMCDDA accepts no responsibility or liability for any consequences arising from the use of the data contained in this document. The contents of this publication do not necessarily reflect the official opinions of the EMCDDA's partners, any EU Member State or any agency or institution of the European Union or European Communities. A great deal of additional information on the European Union is available on the Internet. It can be accessed through the Europa server (http://europa.eu). Europe Direct is a service to help you find answers to your questions about the European Union Freephone number: 00 800 6 7 8 9 10 11 This publication should be referenced as: EMCDDA (2008), A cannabis reader: global issues and local experiences, Monograph series 8, Volume 1, European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction, Lisbon. References to chapters in this monograph should include, where relevant, references to the authors of each chapter, together with a reference to the wider publication. For example: Corrigan, D. (2008), ‘The pharmacology of cannabis: issues for understanding its use’, in: A cannabis reader: global issues and local experiences, Monograph series 8, Volume 1, European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction, Lisbon. The publication is available on the Internet at: http://www.emcdda.europa.eu/publications/monographs/cannabis Cataloguing data can be found at the end of this publication. Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications of the European Communities, 2008 ISBN 978-92-9168-311-6 © European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction, 2008 Reproduction is authorised provided the source is acknowledged. Printed in Belgium Rua da Cruz de Santa Apolónia 23–25, P-1149-045 Lisbon Tel. (351) 21 811 30 00 • Fax (351) 21 813 17 11 [email protected] • http://www.emcdda.europa.eu Contents Introduction ix Foreword xiii Wolfgang Götz Overview of Volume 1 xvii Sharon Rödner Sznitman and Börje Olsson Part I: Cannabis in the past Chapter 1: Cannabis as medicine in Europe in the 19th century 3 Manfred Fankhauser Chapter 2: The re-emergence of the therapeutic use of cannabis products: recent developments and future prospects 17 John Witton Chapter 3: The pharmacology of cannabis: issues for understanding its use 27 Desmond Corrigan Chapter 4: Soma, the Wootton Report and cannabis law reform in Britain during the 1960s and 1970s 39 Stephen Abrams Chapter 5: Cannabis’s role in drawing attention to ‘the drugs problem’ in Sweden 51 Börje Olsson Chapter 6: Enlargement 2005: cannabis in the new EU Member States 63 Jacek Moskalewicz, Airi-Alina Allaste, Zsolt Demetrovics, Danica Klempova and Janusz Sierosławski, with Ladislav Csemy, Vito Flaker, Neoklis Georgiades, Anna Girard, Vera Grebenc, Ernestas Jasaitis, Ines Kvaternik Jenko, Richard Muscat, Marcis Trapencieris, Sharon Vella and Alenka Žagar v Contents Part II: Policies, legislation and control strategies Chapter 7: Cannabis control in Europe 97 Danilo Ballotta, Henri Bergeron and Brendan Hughes Chapter 8: In thinking about cannabis policy, what can be learned from alcohol and tobacco? 119 Robin Room Chapter 9: An open front door: the coffee shop phenomenon in the Netherlands 137 Dirk Korf Chapter 10: Cannabis policy: tightening the ties in Denmark 157 Vibeke Asmussen Chapter 11: Cannabis: a harm reduction perspective 171 Andrew Bennett Part III: Supply and production issues Chapter 12: Global cannabis cultivation and trafficking 187 Ted Leggett and Thomas Pietschmann Chapter 13: Monitoring cannabis availability in Europe: issues, trends and challenges 215 Chloé Carpentier, Meredith Meacham and Paul Griffiths Chapter 14: Understanding cannabis potency and monitoring cannabis products in Europe 239 Leslie King Chapter 15: Multinational export–import ventures: Moroccan hashish into Europe through Spain 261 Juan Francisco Gamella and Maria Luisa Jiménez Rodrigo Chapter 16: An analysis of the significance of supply and market factors for variations in European cannabis use 291 Leif Lenke Appendix: Grey literature list 300 Index 311 vi Introduction Smoked, eaten, imbibed — or just talked about — it seems the world has a strong appetite for cannabis. An estimated one in five European adults have tried it. Thirteen million Europeans have consumed it in the past month. Globally, nearly 50 000 tonnes of cannabis herb or resin is produced for consumption each year. Little wonder, then, that cannabis has become a controversial cultural and commercial phenomenon. Today, cannabis has a unique ability to divide opinion among policymakers, scientists, law enforcers, drugs professionals and consumers. This EMCDDA cannabis monograph addresses one basic question. How can I find quality information on cannabis, amid all the bias and opinion? During the editing of this monograph it soon became clear that the EMCDDA was entering an area crowded with general guides, even competing cannabis monographs. This is where the idea of a cannabis ‘reader’ emerged. Our audience — researchers, parliamentarians, drugs professionals, students, European citizens — is currently faced with an overload of professional publications. Added to this is the daily flood of information on the Internet, often crusading in nature, and sometimes misleading. This threatens to obscure the genuine progress made in cannabis research during the past two decades. The EMCDDA cannabis reader underlines the point that cannabis is not just a static, unchanging plant, but a dynamic product that is subject to gradual evolution in potency, prevalence, cultivation, legislative and public health concerns. In this monograph, leading experts provide short, sharp insights on a range of cannabis topics while offering advice on further reading for each topic. Brief editorial notes provide concise introductions to each topic, occasionally drawing attention to political sensitivities and the need for a ‘critical eye’. So this cannabis reader has a value, both as a shortcut to researchers entering the area and a synthesis for experts. You will find a wide range of views expressed in the chapters in this monograph, not all of them in agreement. The arguments, tone and conclusion of each chapter is the responsibility of the author alone, and is not necessarily endorsed or supported by the EMCDDA. This reflects the wider discourse on cannabis where different positions and perspectives often lead to different conclusions being drawn from the same evidence. We believe each chapter represents a useful contribution to the overall debate, even if their individual perspectives differ. ix Introduction Two volumes, multiple audiences: policymakers, enforcers, researchers, professionals The monograph is divided into two volumes, each comprising three sections. There are a number of reasons for the two-volume approach. While complementary, each has a slightly different audience. The first volume centres on political, legislative, commercial and social developments relating to cannabis. Its core audience thus comprises policymakers, sociologists, historians, journalists and those involved in enforcement. The second volume is very much centred on drugs professionals working in the fields of treatment, prevention and healthcare. Volume 1 • Cannabis in the past • Policies, legislation and control strategies • Supply and production issues Volume 2 • Epidemiology • Health effects of cannabis use • Prevention and treatment Changing perspectives: from global issues to local experiences What unites both volumes is an attempt to fuse general chapters with specific case studies. Within each section, you will encounter a progression from a ‘top level’ to a ‘close-up’ view of the subject. So each section begins with chapters providing a general introduction to a single cannabis issue, often of an encyclopaedic nature, together with a summary of the current state of scientific research. The monograph then ‘zooms in’ with a case study about a specific aspect of cannabis. In