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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Published in:Journal of Drug Issues Vol. 53; no. 4; pp. 519 - 536
Main Authors: Queirolo, Rosario, Álvarez, Eliana, Sotto, Belén, Cruz, José Miguel
Format: Article
Published: Sage Publications Inc. Oct2023
Subjects:
Online Access:View this record in EBSCOhost
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      dt: Oct2023
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        atl: How High-Frequency Users Embraced Cannabis Regulation in Uruguay.
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        au:
          Queirolo, Rosario
          Álvarez, Eliana
          Sotto, Belén
          Cruz, José Miguel
        affil:
          59297 Universidad Católica del Uruguay, Uruguay
          5450 Florida International University, Miami, FL, USA
      su:
        Uruguay
        Black market
        Gray market
        Legalization
        Sampling (Process)
      sug:
        subj:
          Black market
          Gray market
          Legalization
          Uruguay
          Sampling (Process)
      keyword:
        black market
        cannabis regulation
        high-frequency users
        registry system
        black market
        cannabis regulation
        high-frequency users
        registry system
      ab: 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.
      pubtype: Academic Journal
      doctype: Article
      src: R
    language: English
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