Prohibition and Cannabis Use in Australia: A Survey of 18- to 29-year-olds

Abstract

The prevalence of cannabis use in Australia has increased in the last few years, prompting some to argue that the prohibition against cannabis is both costly and ineffective and should be lifted. Surveys designed to evaluate the effect of reducing or eliminating sanctions for cannabis use, however, have been more concerned about the effect of cannabis law reform on the number of new cannabis users than about its effect on cannabis consumption among existing users. This is a serious oversight because most of the risks associated with cannabis are associated with regular rather than occasional use of the drug. The present research was designed to assess some of the potential effects of lifting the prohibition against cannabis use.The study results suggest that, while the illegal status of cannabis does act to limit its use, it is not a major factor in decisions about whether to use cannabis or to cease using it. Prohibition does, however, appear to limit consumption among existing cannabis users and particularly among those who use the drug on a weekly basis or more frequently.

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Australian Institute of Health and Welfare . (1999). 1998 National Drug Strategy Household Survey: First Results. Canberra: Author.

Australian Institute of Health and Welfare . (1999). 1998 National Drug Strategy Household Survey: Detailed Findings. Canberra: Author.

Austroads . (2000). Drugs and driving in Australia. Sydney: Author.

Channabasavanna

S.M.

Paes

Hall

(1999). Mental and behavioral disorders due to cannabis use. In

Kalant

Corrigall

W.A.

Hall

Smart

R.G.

(Eds.), The health effects of cannabis. Toronto: The Addiction Research Foundation.

Chesher

G.B.

Dauncey

Crawford

Horn

(1986). The interaction between alcohol and marijuana. Canberra: Federal Department of Transport, Federal Office of Road Safety.

Clements

K.W.

Daryal

(1999). The economics of marijuana consumption. Working paper, Economic Research Centre, Department of Economics, University of Western Australia, Perth.

Cohen

P.D.A.

Kaal

H.L.

(2001). The irrelevance of drug policy: Patterns and careers of experienced cannabis use in the populations of Amsterdam, San Francisco and Bremen. CEDRO, Amsterdam: University of Amsterdam.

Daryal

(1999). Prices, legalisation and marijuana consumption. Working paper, Economic Research Centre, Department of Economics, University of Western Australia, Perth. (1999). Prices, legalisation and marijuana consumption. Working paper, Economic Research Centre, Department of Economics, University of Western Australia, Perth.

Donnelly

Hall

Christie

(1995). The effects of partial decriminalisation on cannabis use in South Australia, 1985 to 1993. Australian Journal of Public Health, 19(3), 281–287.

10.

Donnelly

Hall

Christie

(1998). Effects of the cannabis expiation notice Scheme on levels and patterns of cannabis use in South Australia: Evidence from the National Drug Strategy Household Surveys 1985–1995. Canberra: Commonwealth Department of Health and Aged Care.

11.

Hall

Degenhardt

Lynskey

(2001). The health and psychological effects of cannabis use (2nd ed.). Monograph Series No. 44. Canberra: Commonwealth Department of Human Services and Health.

12.

Hall

Solowij

Lemon

(1994). The health and psychological consequences of cannabis use. Monograph Series No. 25, Canberra: Commonwealth Department of Human Services and Health.

13.

Johnston

L.D.

O'Malley

P.M.

Bachman

J.G.

(1981). Marijuana decriminalisation: The impact on youth. Monitoring the Future Occasional Paper 13, Ann Arbor, Michigan.

14.

Lenton

Christie

Humeniuk

Brooks

Bennett

Heale

(1998). Infringement versus conviction: The social impact of a minor cannabis offence under a civil penalties system and strict prohibition in two Australian states. Canberra: Commonwealth Department of Aged Care.

15.

Longo

M.C.

Hunter

C.E.

Lokan

R.J.

White

J.M.

White

M.A.

(2000). The prevalence of alcohol, cannabinoids, benzodiazepines and stimulants amongst injured drivers and their role in driver culpability. Part 1: The prevalence of drug use in drivers, and characteristics of the drug-positive group. Accident Analysis and Prevention, 32, 613–622.

16.

MacCoun

(1993). Drugs and law: A psychological analysis of drug prohibition. Psychological Bulletin, 113(3), 497–512.

17.

MacCoun

Reuter

(1997). Interpreting Dutch cannabis policy: Reasoning by analogy in the legalization debate. Science, 278, 47–52.

18.

MacCoun

Reuter

(2001). Evaluating alternative cannabis regimes. British Journal of Psychiatry, 178, 123–128.

19.

Makkai

McAllister

(1997). Marijuana in Australia: Patterns and attitudes. Monograph Series No. 31, Canberra: Commonwealth Department of Health and Family Services.

20.

Manski

C.F.

Pepper

J.V.m

Petrie

C.V.

(Eds.). (2001). Informing America's policy on illegal drugs: What we don't know keeps hurting us. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.

21.

Marks

R.E.

(1994). Cannabis laws: An analysis of costs. Drug and Alcohol Review, 13, 341–346.

22.

McElrath

Dunham

Cromwell

(1995). Validity of self-reported cocaine and opiate use among arrestees in five cities. Journal of Criminal Justice, 23(6), 531–540.

23.

NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research (2001). New South Wales Criminal Courts Statistics 2000. Sydney: NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research.

24.

Schelling

(1992). Addictive drugs: The cigarette experience. Science, 255, 430–433.

25.

Single

(1989). The impact of marijuana decriminalisation: An update. Journal of Public Health Policy, 10, 456–466.

26.

Smiley

(1999). Marijuana: On-road and driving simulator studies. In

Kalant

Corrigall

W.A.

Hall

Smart

R.G.

(Eds.), The health effects of cannabis. Toronto: The Addiction Research Foundation.

27.

Solowij

Stephens

R.S.

Roffman

R.A.

Babor

Kadden

Miller

(2002). Cognitive functioning of long-term heavy cannabis users seeking treatment. Journal of the American Medical Association, 287(9), 1123–1131.

28.

Sutton

(2000). Cannabis law and the young adult user: Reflections on South Australia's Cannabis Expiation Notice System. International Journal of the Sociology of Law, 28(2), 147–162.

29.

Swift

Hall

Teesson

(2001). Cannabis use and dependence among Australian adults: Results from the National Survey of Mental Health and Wellbeing. Addiction, 96, 737–748.

30.

Tutt

Bauer

Arms

Perera

(2001). Cannabis and road death — An emerging injury prevention concern. Health Promotion Journal of Australia, 12(2), 159–162.

31.

Walsh

G.W.

Mann

R.E.

(1999). On the high road: Driving under the influence of cannabis in Ontario. Canadian Journal of Public Health, 90(4), 260–263.

32.

Weatherburn

Jones

(2001). Does prohibition deter cannabis use? Crime and Justice Bulletin, 58, Sydney: NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research.