How High-Frequency Users Embraced Cannabis Regulation in Uruguay

How cannabis legalization affects users’ behaviors? In this paper, we describe changes in the way users access cannabis in Uruguay before and after the implementation of cannabis regulation. We explore the differences between users that access through the legal, black, and gray markets. To do so, we...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Queirolo, María del Rosario (Autor) ; Álvarez, Eliana (Autor) ; Sotto, Belén (Autor) ; Cruz, José Miguel (Autor)
Tipo de documento: Electrónico Artículo
Lenguaje:Inglés
Publicado: 2023
En: Journal of drug issues
Año: 2023, Volumen: 53, Número: 4, Páginas: 519-535
Acceso en línea: Volltext (lizenzpflichtig)
Verificar disponibilidad: HBZ Gateway
Palabras clave:
Uruguay
registry system
high-frequency users
black market
cannabis regulation
Descripción
Sumario:How cannabis legalization affects users’ behaviors? In this paper, we describe changes in the way users access cannabis in Uruguay before and after the implementation of cannabis regulation. We explore the differences between users that access through the legal, black, and gray markets. To do so, we rely on two face-to-face surveys of high-frequency users using the Respondent Driven Sample technique. The first survey was conducted at the beginning of the regulation implementation in 2014, and the second one in 2017. Results indicate that cannabis users gradually moved to the legal market, and most switched to the gray market. Furthermore, users kept acquiring cannabis from the black market even when using legal mechanisms. Considering these results, we argue that the strict regulations imposed in Uruguay may have operated as barriers for consumers to abandon the black market completely. These findings show that the specifics of each legalization policy matter.
ISSN:1945-1369
DOI:10.1177/00220426221134902