title: Growing medicine: small-scale cannabis cultivation for medical purposes in six different countries.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The production and consumption of cannabis for the treatment of medical conditions is of increasing importance internationally; however, research on different aspects of the phenomenon is still scarce. In this article, we report findings from a cross-cultural study of small-scale cannabis cultivation for medical purposes. This kind of comparative study has not been done previously.
  
  
  METHODS
  The data were gathered with a help of web surveys conducted by the Global Cannabis Cultivation Research Consortium (GCCRC) in Australia, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Germany and the UK (N=5313). In the analysis we compare reports of medical motives, for what conditions cannabis is used, whether users have diagnoses for these conditions and whether the use of cannabis been recommended as a treatment of those conditions by a medical doctor. Descriptive statistics are used to show the main commonalities and noteworthy disparities across different countries.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Findings from countries were quite similar, even though several national differences in details were found. Growing cannabis for medical purposes was widespread. The majority of medical growers reported cultivating cannabis for serious conditions. Most of them did have a formal diagnosis. One fifth had got a recommendation from their doctor, but in most cases cannabis use was self-medication which was not discussed with their doctors.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  There is a wider demand for licit access for medical cannabis than currently available in these countries. Ideologically, medical growers can be seen distancing themselves from both the legal and illicit drug markets. From a harm reduction perspective, it is worrying that, in the context of present health and control policies in these countries, many medical growers are using cannabis to treat serious medical conditions without proper medical advice and doctor's guidance.
authors.affiliation: Department of Alcohol, Drugs and Addiction, National Institute for Health and Welfare (THL), P.O. Box 30, FI-00271 Helsinki, Finland. Electronic address: pekka.hakkarainen@thl.fi.
authors.forename: Pekka
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Hakkarainen
authors.affiliation: Centre for Alcohol and Drug Research, Aarhus University, Bartholins Allé 10, 8000 Aarhus C, Denmark.
authors.forename: Vibeke Asmussen
authors.initials: VA
authors.lastname: Frank
authors.affiliation: Drug Policy Modelling Program, National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre, University of New South Wales, Australia; National Drug Research Institute, Curtin University, Australia.
authors.forename: Monica J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Barratt
authors.affiliation: Centre for Alcohol and Drug Research, Aarhus University, Bartholins Allé 10, 8000 Aarhus C, Denmark.
authors.forename: Helle Vibeke
authors.initials: HV
authors.lastname: Dahl
authors.affiliation: Institute for Social Drug Research, Department of Penal Law and Criminology, Ghent University, Universiteitstraat 4, 9000 Ghent, Belgium.
authors.forename: Tom
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Decorte
authors.affiliation: Department of Alcohol, Drugs and Addiction, National Institute for Health and Welfare (THL), P.O. Box 30, FI-00271 Helsinki, Finland.
authors.forename: Karoliina
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Karjalainen
authors.affiliation: National Drug Research Institute, Faculty of Health Sciences, Curtin University, GPO Box U1987, Perth, Western Australia, Australia.
authors.forename: Simon
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lenton
authors.affiliation: Department of Social Sciences, London South Bank University, 103 Borough Road, London SE1 0AA, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Gary
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Potter
authors.affiliation: Centre for Drug Research, Goethe University Frankfurt, Grueneburgplatz 1, D-60323 Frankfurt, Germany.
authors.forename: Bernd
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Werse
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001315:Australia; D002186:Cannabinoids / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002188:Cannabis / Q000254:growth & development*; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D004335:Drug and Narcotic Control; D005060:Europe; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D038622:Internationality; D020407:Internet; D008297:Male; D008385:Marijuana Smoking / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000523:psychology*; D064086:Medical Marijuana / Q000600:supply & distribution*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009042:Motivation; D012651:Self Medication; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D002186:Cannabinoids; D064086:Medical Marijuana
keywords: Cannabis; Cross-cultural study; Medical use of cannabis; Small-scale cannabis cultivation; Web survey