A cannabis reader : global issues and local experiences.
Perspectives on cannabis controversies, treatment and regulation in Europe
EMCDDA MONOGRAPHS, 8 Volume 1
Editors : Sharon Rödner Sznitman, Börje Olsson, Robin Room
European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction, Lisbon, 2008 — 392 pp.
Contents
Introduction
Foreword : Wolfgang Götz
Overview of Volume 1 : Sharon Rödner Sznitman and Börje Olsson
Part I : Cannabis in the past
Chapter 1 : Cannabis as medicine in Europe in the 19th century : Manfred Fankhauser
Chapter 2 : The re-emergence of the therapeutic use of cannabis products : recent developments and future prospects : John Witton
Chapter 3 : The pharmacology of cannabis: issues for understanding its use : Desmond Corrigan
Chapter 4 : Soma, the Wootton Report and cannabis law reform in Britain during the 1960s and 1970s : Stephen Abrams
Chapter 5 : Cannabis’s role in drawing attention to ‘the drugs problem’ in Sweden : Börje Olsson
Chapter 6 : Enlargement 2005 : cannabis in the new EU Member States : 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
Part II : Policies, legislation and control strategies
Chapter 7 : Cannabis control in Europe : Danilo Ballotta, Henri Bergeron and Brendan Hughes
Chapter 8 : In thinking about cannabis policy, what can be learned from
alcohol and tobacco? : Robin Room
Chapter 9 : An open front door: the coffee shop phenomenon in the Netherlands : Dirk Korf
Chapter 10 : Cannabis policy: tightening the ties in Denmark : Vibeke Asmussen
Chapter 11 : Cannabis: a harm reduction perspective : Andrew Bennett
Part III : Supply and production issues
Chapter 12 : Global cannabis cultivation and trafficking : Ted Leggett and Thomas Pietschmann
Chapter 13 : Monitoring cannabis availability in Europe : issues, trends and challenges : Chloé Carpentier, Meredith Meacham and Paul Griffiths
Chapter 14 : Understanding cannabis potency and monitoring cannabis products in Europe : Leslie King
Chapter 15: Multinational export–import ventures: Moroccan hashish into Europe through Spain : 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 : Leif Lenke
Appendix : Grey literature list
Index
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.