NCJ Number
200771
Journal
Journal of Drug Issues Volume: 32 Issue: 2 Dated: Spring 2002 Pages: 395-412
Date Published
2002
Length
18 pages
Annotation
This article details long-term cannabis use through comparing the experiences of cannabis users in Amsterdam, Bremen, and San Francisco.
Abstract
Questioning whether there are different ways to consume cannabis in Amsterdam, Bremen, and San Francisco, this research seeks to address whether earlier youth cannabis consumption leads to more excessive, problematic use later in life. This article presents of the demographic structure of the 522 cannabis users profiled in this stud. The authors suggest that the appropriate methods for handling drugs in a society are determined by both its laws and by the social climate in which the drug consumption takes place. Addressing users’ fears of being arrested, sources for cannabis, and usages of other drugs, the authors present consumption patterns for the users profiled in this report, arguing that consumption patterns varied according to the conditions established through various drug policies. Discussing the five different consumer types, the leisure-oriented occasional, the moderate, the heavy, the occasional, and the former heavy cannabis consumers, this article contends that the specific type of user was closely associated with the city in which the consumer resided. With drug consumption neither glorified nor taboo in Amsterdam, drug usage in that city reflected the moderate consumer pattern, while San Francisco demonstrated more leisure-oriented and heavy consumers. The different drug policies at work in the different cities are well reflected in the cannabis consumption by users. References