This article challenges drug prohibition advocated by UN conventions as the prevailing regulatory model for psychoactive substances, highlighting its ineffectiveness, harmfulness and outdated nature. At the same time, the conventions exclude some psychoactive substances from international regulation, leaving control to individual countries. Presenting an innovative approach, this article outlines an approach to the legal regulation of psychomodulatory substances (psychoactive substances with low health and societal risk) in non-medical contexts. Acknowledging the potential benefits of such psychoactive substances and balancing them with potential harms, it suggests stringent rules for marketing, safety, and preventing sales to minors. This approach aims to quell illicit markets, safeguard vulnerable populations, and encourage controlled use. Through a case study of the Czech Republic's introduction of a new category of psychomodulatory substances, this article showcases a paradigm shift from the prevailing repressive approach to drug regulation. This adaptive model effectively navigates the regulatory void, offering a viable alternative to the UN's prohibition framework.
- Klíčová slova
- Drug policy, Drug regulation, Harm reduction,
- MeSH
- kontrola léčiv a omamných látek * zákonodárství a právo MeSH
- lidé MeSH
- poruchy spojené s užíváním psychoaktivních látek prevence a kontrola epidemiologie MeSH
- psychotropní léky * zásobování a distribuce MeSH
- zakázané drogy zákonodárství a právo MeSH
- zákonodárství lékové MeSH
- Check Tag
- lidé MeSH
- Publikační typ
- časopisecké články MeSH
- Geografické názvy
- Česká republika MeSH
- Názvy látek
- psychotropní léky * MeSH
- zakázané drogy MeSH
- Klíčová slova
- Czechia, Drug market, Drug policy, Methamphetamine, Precursor regulation, Time series,
- Publikační typ
- časopisecké články MeSH
The article deals with the issue of decriminalization of drugs, in all relevant contexts, both in terms of criminal policy and legislation, as well as law enforcement, with focus on the Czech Republic. The article proceeds deductively from the general to the specific. First, it discusses the role of law in society and its legitimacy, with focus on legitimate criminal sanctions, which are discussed in the context of the principle of subsidiarity of criminal repression and the principle of opportunity (discretionary prosecution). After these general considerations, the article turns to the issue of drugs and discusses both drug policy and legislation, arguing that the general considerations are in favor of decriminalization tendencies in this area. In the final part, the article focuses on psychedelics, emphasizing a fundamental discrepancy between their factual and legal status and then considering ways of changing the perspective. At this point, the article outlines the importance of decriminalization of psychedelics for therapeutic use, which basically consist of rescheduling of these drugs. The aim of such decriminalization is to make psychedelic-assisted therapy legally available. The article concludes that this is the direction that criminal policy and law in the Czech Republic should take.
- Klíčová slova
- Czech Republic, Decriminalization, Drug policy, Law and society, Psychedelics, Rescheduling,
- MeSH
- halucinogeny * MeSH
- lidé MeSH
- prosazení zákonů MeSH
- veřejná politika MeSH
- zákonodárství lékové MeSH
- zločinci * MeSH
- Check Tag
- lidé MeSH
- Publikační typ
- časopisecké články MeSH
- Geografické názvy
- Česká republika MeSH
- Názvy látek
- halucinogeny * MeSH
Developments in information technology have impacted on all areas of modern life and in particular facilitated the growth of globalisation in commerce and communication. Within the drugs area this means that both drugs discourse and drug markets have become increasingly digitally enabled. In response to this, new methods are being developed that attempt to research and monitor the digital environment. In this commentary we present three case studies of innovative approaches and related challenges to software-automated data mining of the digital environment: (i) an e-shop finder to detect e-shops offering new psychoactive substances, (ii) scraping of forum data from online discussion boards, (iii) automated sentiment analysis of discussions in online discussion boards. We conclude that the work presented brings opportunities in terms of leveraging data for developing a more timely and granular understanding of the various aspects of drug-use phenomena in the digital environment. In particular, combining the number of e-shops, discussion posts, and sentiments regarding particular substances could be used for ad hoc risk assessments as well as longitudinal drug monitoring and indicate "online popularity". The main challenges of digital data mining involve data representativity and ethical considerations.
- Klíčová slova
- Data mining, E-shops, Internet-based drug forums, Natural language processing, Online surveillance, Psychoactive substances, Text mining,
- MeSH
- data mining MeSH
- léčivé přípravky * MeSH
- lidé MeSH
- monitorování léčiv MeSH
- obchod MeSH
- poruchy spojené s užíváním psychoaktivních látek * MeSH
- Check Tag
- lidé MeSH
- Publikační typ
- časopisecké články MeSH
- Názvy látek
- léčivé přípravky * MeSH
BACKGROUND: The European Web Survey on Drugs aimed to obtain in-depth data on consumption of cannabis, ecstasy/MDMA, cocaine, and amphetamines in different populations of drug users in 16 European countries. This paper examines test-retest reliability, the consistency and the comprehensibility of the prevalence and frequency of use questions in the Czech part of the survey. METHODS: A baseline web survey was performed (N = 610) with follow-up data collection in a sub-sample of volunteers providing email addresses (N = 158). The baseline sample was self-selecting, responding to advertisements made available through multiple channels designed to attract diverse samples of drug users. Test-retest analysis was conducted for core questionnaire items. RESULTS: Respondents to the follow-up were predominantly socially integrated; 91% reported last year cannabis use, 42% used Ecstasy/MDMA, 23% amphetamines, and 27% reported cocaine use. Test-retest reliability was rated moderate to good (reliability coefficients between 0.55-0.87) for most prevalence items with sufficient sample sizes. Items assessing frequency of use were more reliable for most substances when asking about the exact number of days used, compared to categorical items that implicitly assume a regular pattern of use and were interpreted differently by different respondents. CONCLUSIONS: Simplicity and unambiguity of questions increase the reliability of results. Tools measuring drug consumption need to take into consideration the irregularity of drug using patterns. Question testing is important to increase validity and support a correct interpretation of the data.
- Klíčová slova
- Patterns of use, Prevalence, Test/re-test reliability, Web survey,
- MeSH
- dospělí MeSH
- lidé MeSH
- mladý dospělý MeSH
- poruchy spojené s užíváním psychoaktivních látek epidemiologie MeSH
- průzkumy a dotazníky normy MeSH
- reprodukovatelnost výsledků MeSH
- uživatelé drog statistika a číselné údaje MeSH
- Check Tag
- dospělí MeSH
- lidé MeSH
- mladý dospělý MeSH
- mužské pohlaví MeSH
- ženské pohlaví MeSH
- Publikační typ
- časopisecké články MeSH
- práce podpořená grantem MeSH
- Geografické názvy
- Česká republika MeSH
BACKGROUND: Cannabis policies should be relevant to communities most impacted by them. Home cultivation policies can engage people who grow cannabis and build on their motivation to supply a safe product. This paper aims to examine the laws pertaining to "home" (i.e. personal, small-scale) cannabis cultivation internationally and their different aspects, and to discuss the potential of these policies to be expanded into community-level cannabis supply models. METHODS: We reviewed relevant laws and regulations in states/countries that legalised, decriminalised or applied other non-prohibitive approaches to home cannabis cultivation. FINDINGS: Non-prohibitive approaches to home cannabis cultivation have been adopted in at least 27 jurisdictions. Twelve jurisdictions "de jure" legalised home cultivation (three U.S. states and Antigua and Barbuda legalised only home cultivation; six U.S. states, Uruguay and Canada legalised commercial sales as well). Eight states/countries "de facto" (Belgium, the Netherlands) or "de jure" decriminalised it (Czech Republic, Spain, Jamaica, and three Australian states). "De jure" depenalisation was in place in Chile and Brazil and recent court rulings yielded "de facto" depenalisation or "de facto" legalisation in five other jurisdictions (South Africa, Mexico, Colombia, Costa Rica and Georgia). Varying number of plants (per person and per property) and the circumstances of cultivation were in place. The key limitations of the regulations included (i) possession thresholds for the produce from home cultivations, (ii) rules about sharing the produce, and (iii) potentially disproportionate sanctions for non-authorised behaviours. Despite currently being limited, home cultivation policies might have the capacity to engage cannabis networks that already exist in the community and like that, enhance their participation in legitimate policy schemes. CONCLUSIONS: Rules around pooled cultivation and sharing could be made fit for purpose to accommodate community supply of cannabis. Home cultivation policies could serve as a basis for community-level cannabis supply models and as such, for more inclusive cannabis policies.
- Klíčová slova
- Cannabis legalisation, Cannabis policy, Community supply, Community-level policy, Home/small-scale cannabis cultivation,
- MeSH
- Cannabis růst a vývoj MeSH
- lidé MeSH
- obchod zákonodárství a právo MeSH
- užívání marihuany zákonodárství a právo MeSH
- veřejná politika zákonodárství a právo MeSH
- zákonodárství lékové * MeSH
- Check Tag
- lidé MeSH
- Publikační typ
- časopisecké články MeSH
BACKGROUND: It is now commonly accepted that there exists a form of drug supply, that involves the non-commercial supply of drugs to friends and acquaintances for little or no profit, which is qualitatively different from profit motivated 'drug dealing proper'. 'Social supply', as it has become known, has a strong conceptual footprint in the United Kingdom, shaped by empirical research, policy discussion and its accommodation in legal frameworks. Though scholarship has emerged in a number of contexts outside the UK, the extent to which social supply has developed as an internationally recognised concept in criminal justice contexts is still unclear. METHODS: Drawing on an established international social supply research network across eleven nations, this paper provides the first assessment of social supply as an internationally relevant concept. Data derives from individual and team research stemming from Australia, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Finland, Germany, Hong Kong, the Netherlands, England and Wales, and the United States, supported by expert reflection on research evidence and analysis of sentencing and media reporting in each context. In situ social supply experts addressed a common set of questions regarding the nature of social supply for their particular context including: an overview of social supply research activity, reflection on the extent that differentiation is accommodated in drug supply sentencing frameworks; evaluating the extent to which social supply is recognised in legal discourse and in sentencing practices and more broadly by e.g. criminal justice professionals in the public sphere. A thematic analysis of these scripts was undertaken and emergent themes were developed. Whilst having an absence of local research, New Zealand is also included in the analysis as there exists a genuine discursive presence of social supply in the drug control and sentencing policy contexts in that country. RESULTS: Findings suggest that while social supply has been found to exist as a real and distinct behaviour, its acceptance and application in criminal justice systems ranges from explicit through to implicit. In the absence of dedicated guiding frameworks, strong use is made of discretion and mitigating circumstances in attempts to acknowledge supply differentiation. In some jurisdictions, there is no accommodation of social supply, and while aggravating factors can be applied to differentiate more serious offences, social suppliers remain subject to arbitrary deterrent sentencing apparatus. CONCLUSION: Due to the shifting sands of politics, mood, or geographical disparity, reliance on judicial discretion and the use of mitigating circumstances to implement commensurate sentences for social suppliers is no longer sufficient. Further research is required to strengthen the conceptual presence of social supply in policy and practice as a behaviour that extends beyond cannabis and is relevant to users of all drugs. Research informed guidelines and/or specific sentencing provisions for social suppliers would provide fewer possibilities for inconsistency and promote more proportionate outcomes for this fast-growing group.
- Klíčová slova
- Drug dealing, Drugs, Friend supply, Minimally commercial supply, Proportionality, Sentencing, Social supply, User-dealers,
- MeSH
- internacionalita MeSH
- kontrola léčiv a omamných látek zákonodárství a právo MeSH
- lidé MeSH
- obchodování s drogami zákonodárství a právo psychologie MeSH
- sociální sítě * MeSH
- trestní zákon MeSH
- uživatelé drog psychologie MeSH
- Check Tag
- lidé MeSH
- Publikační typ
- časopisecké články MeSH
- srovnávací studie MeSH
BACKGROUND: There is growing experience with the not-for-profit, consumer-driven cannabis social club (CSC) model that builds on self-supply, self-organization and harm-reduction; these are principles upon which people who use drugs (PWUD) have been engaging for decades. Recent legalization of cannabis in a number of jurisdictions and the related challenges in regulating production, sale, taxation and health-related matters have raised interest in non-commercial models of cannabis supply. The "codes of conduct" (CsoC) of CSC federations in Spain might reveal whether a consumer-based model could overcome these challenges. METHODS: To examine the content of the CSC auto-regulatory documents, an online search using key terms to identify the CsoC was conducted. Six documents were found; analysis of the main thematic categories and overarching themes was conducted. It was discussed how these corresponded to the areas of cannabis policy regulation and what the main limitations of the CSC model were. RESULTS: The CsoC detailed the rules for CSC administration, not-for-profit aims, "invitation only" and other conditions of membership, collective cultivation and security as well as for operation of the consumption venue and health-related initiatives. The themes in the CsoC overlapped with cannabis regulatory areas as outlined internationally. Concern over cannabis prices and potency was missing in the CsoC. The potential strengths of the CSC model might include safe environment for peer-delivered harm reduction practice, preventing illicit transactions, quality control, shifting economic surplus to the consumers and increased consumer responsibility. The limitations of the CSC model include high threshold, disguised motives, tax revenue and the risk of both under- and over-regulation. CONCLUSION: CSCs represent an opportunity to enhance consumer agency and responsibility. The right "to be self-supplied" with psychoactive substances can be granted to consumer associations - but authorities need to provide a framework to facilitate this voluntary self-organization, including minimum standards around public health and safety, and to involve consumers in the development of these regulations.
- Klíčová slova
- Cannabis market regulation, Cannabis policy, Cannabis social clubs, Harm reduction, Qualitative analysis,
- MeSH
- kontrola léčiv a omamných látek organizace a řízení MeSH
- kouření marihuany psychologie MeSH
- lidé MeSH
- řízení kvality MeSH
- sebekontrola psychologie MeSH
- spotřebitelské organizace normy MeSH
- účast komunity psychologie MeSH
- Check Tag
- lidé MeSH
- Publikační typ
- časopisecké články MeSH
- MeSH
- abúzus marihuany * MeSH
- Cannabis * MeSH
- lidé MeSH
- veřejná politika MeSH
- zákonodárství lékové MeSH
- Check Tag
- lidé MeSH
- Publikační typ
- časopisecké články MeSH
- komentáře MeSH
- Geografické názvy
- Česká republika MeSH
BACKGROUND: In the Czech Republic in 2010 a law was introduced decriminalizing personal possession of small quantities of several illicit drugs, including cannabis. METHODS: We use 2012 survey data to examine the effect of a change in cannabis policy on the age of onset of cannabis use. We estimate the effect of the policy change using a mixed proportional hazards framework that models the transition to first cannabis use. RESULTS: The change in cannabis policy did not affect the transition to first cannabis use. CONCLUSION: We find no evidence of cannabis decriminalization affecting the age of onset of cannabis use.
- Klíčová slova
- Age of onset, Cannabis, Decriminalization,
- MeSH
- dospělí MeSH
- kouření marihuany epidemiologie zákonodárství a právo MeSH
- lidé MeSH
- mladiství MeSH
- mladý dospělý MeSH
- proporcionální rizikové modely MeSH
- průzkumy a dotazníky MeSH
- věk při počátku nemoci MeSH
- zakázané drogy zákonodárství a právo MeSH
- zákonodárství lékové * MeSH
- zdravotní politika MeSH
- Check Tag
- dospělí MeSH
- lidé MeSH
- mladiství MeSH
- mladý dospělý MeSH
- mužské pohlaví MeSH
- ženské pohlaví MeSH
- Publikační typ
- časopisecké články MeSH
- Geografické názvy
- Česká republika epidemiologie MeSH
- Názvy látek
- zakázané drogy MeSH
