Los, Greg (2024) ‘California on the Vistula River?’ Cannabis users’ engagement with licit and illicit cannabis markets in Poland. Drugs, Habits and Social Policy. ISSN 2752-6739

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Abstract

Background: Poland, like many other countries, has experienced a shift in its drug policy, as reflected in its government's decision to legalise medical cannabis in 2017. Some media argue that even recreational users are finding ways of using the medical system – in some ways resembling the Californian legalisation of medical cannabis (1996-2016).
Method: Data comes from the Ministry of Health, and an extensive survey of 571 cannabis users asked about their engagement with the licit and illicit cannabis markets in Poland.
Results: Most respondents reported that, at the time of the study, they did not engage with the illicit cannabis market. The majority described themselves as medical users, but a significant proportion identified as recreational users who managed to procure doctors’ prescriptions. This shows that medical users now enjoy better access to cannabis and reflects potential changes to the practices of physicians involved in the market – notably the emergence of cannabis clinics. Some, however, continue to use the illegal cannabis market due to reasons associated with access, price, and quality of cannabis.
Conclusion: This research shows that increasingly more users are likely to opt out of the regulated medical market than the traditional illegal cannabis market. Many of them are recreational users. This could mean that the current policy in Poland is starting to resemble the Californian legalisation of medical cannabis (1996-2016).

Item Type:	Article
Identifier:	10.1108/DHS-05-2024-0019
Subjects:	Law and criminal justice > Criminal justice > Criminology
Depositing User:	Marc Forster
Date Deposited:	08 Oct 2024 08:06
Last Modified:	22 Oct 2024 14:30
URI:	https://repository.uwl.ac.uk/id/eprint/12746

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