Regulating cannabis: An ethnographic analysis of the sale and use of cannabis in New York City and Rotterdam.
Item
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Title
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Regulating cannabis: An ethnographic analysis of the sale and use of cannabis in New York City and Rotterdam.
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Identifier
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AAI9707153
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identifier
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9707153
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Creator
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Sifaneck, Stephen John.
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Contributor
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Adviser: Charles Winick
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Date
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1996
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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Sociology, Public and Social Welfare | Sociology, Criminology and Penology
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Abstract
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The effect that drug control policies have on the behaviors of drug users is a widely debated and important issue, however, it is an area rarely investigated by drug researchers on a comparative basis. This dissertation compares the sale and use of cannabis (i.e., marijuana and hashish) in two different social and policy contexts. By employing an ethnographic methodology over a five year period, observations, in-the-field interviews, and focus groups were performed with 200 users and retail sellers of cannabis in New York City and Rotterdam. Rotterdam's pseudo-legal policy of cannabis regulation through "coffeeshops" (e.g., retail cafe-type establishments which sell cannabis) is contrasted with New York City's policy of semi-decriminalized enforcement of diverse but marginal retail markets (i.e., street and park markets, delivery services, private distribution networks, storefronts). While cannabis policies seem to have little effect on the prevalence of cannabis, the varied cannabis policies do seem to have an effect on a number of other issues including: (1) the conditions of the retail cannabis markets (i.e., prices, retail unit sizes, potency, quality control), (2) use practices (e.g., how users consume cannabis), (3) use patterns (i.e., progression to hard drugs, chronic use), and (4) the environments of use (e.g., where users consume cannabis).
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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PQT Legacy CUNY.xlsx
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degree
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Ph.D.
