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Marijuana in Uruguay and beyond
1.
2. The Latin American Marijuana Research Initiative
(LAMRI) presents:
The Transformation of Drug Policy:
The Impact of Marijuana Legalization in Uruguay
María Fernanda Boidi
José Miguel Cruz
Rosario Queirolo
Marcelo Gomes Freire
With the support of
Emily Bello-Pardo
3. Project focuses in four areas:
Analysis of the enactment and regulation
process
Public opinion analysis in Uruguay, the United
States, and El Salvador (LAPOP’s 2014
AmericasBarometer)
The impact on behavior among frequent
consumers (Respondent Driven Sample survey
in Montevideo)
Profile and membership of Cannabis Clubs
4. Content
The Legal Framework
Attitudes toward Marijuana
Who Consumes and Who Does Not Consume
Marijuana in Uruguay
The Marijuana Frequent Consumers in
Montevideo
6. How did marijuana regulation occur in
Uruguay?
Reasons for regulation very different from the U.S.
experience
President José Mujica’s initiative
It was presented as a measure to tackle the increasing
perception citizen insecurity
It aimed to reduce the leverage of criminal organizations
tied to drug-trafficking
It regulates production, commercialization, and
consumption in the country
7. Three ways to obtain marijuana
in Uruguay
Home cultivation (autocultivo)
• Six marijuana plants per household
• Annual crop of 480 grams
• Or, 40 grams per month
• People must register
• One location per person
8. Three ways to obtain marijuana in
Uruguay
Cannabis Club
• 15 to 45 members of civil association
• Association must register
• Association is responsible for registering
members
• Allowed to farm up to 99 plants
• Annual crop of 480 grams per person
9. Three ways to obtain marijuana in
Uruguay
Sale through pharmacies
• Registered consumer can buy up to 40 grams
per month
• 480 grams per year
• Marijuana would be produced by a number of
private companies
• Process to select private growers has started,
but not finished yet
• Prices are regulated by the government
10. Three ways to obtain marijuana in
Uruguay
Main debate as of early 2015 is whether the
government may make it compulsory for
pharmacies to sell marijuana
Priorities of Tabare Vazquez government are
different from Mujica’s
12. Congress passed the bill with little
support from the Uruguayan public
Top-down process, although there was
some activist mobilization
Framed as civil rights movement by
activists
13. Strongly agree
9.9%
Agree
24.1%
Neither agree nor disagree
5.2%
Disagree
26.6%
Strongly disagree
34.1%
Other
0.1%
Do you agree with marijuana regulation?
Source: AmericasBarometer, LAPOP
Only a third of Uruguayans approved
the new marijuana regulations
14. Approval for marijuana regulation is
significantly higher in the U.S.
8.2%
34%
51.5%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
El Salvador Uruguay United States
SupportforMarijuana
Legalizaion/Regulation
Source: AmericasBarometer by LAPOP
15. 71.8
71.7
71.6
48.5
0.0 20.0 40.0 60.0 80.0
Marijuana is harmful to people's health
Marijuana is the gateway to hard drugs
People will continue buying drugs
Marijuana consumers are a threat to society
Average (0-100)
95 % Confidence Interval
(with Design-Effects)
Source: AmericasBarometer, LAPOP, Uruguay 2014
In fact, as of 2014, most Uruguayans had negative
opinions about marijuana consumption
16. 81.6
71.9
57.7
57.5
53.1
0.0 20.0 40.0 60.0 80.0
Home-grow marijuana will increase
Marijuana consumption will increase
Drug trafficking will increase
Drug consumption will grow
Illicit sales will grow
Average (0-100)
95 % Confidence Interval
(with Design-Effects)
Source: AmericasBarometer, LAPOP, 2014
And most Uruguayans believed that with the law
consumption and illicit trafficking will increase
17. Why did the government enacted
the marijuana law?
Motives %
Public security, tackle crime and trafficking 45.8
To regulate a phenomenon already occurring 13.6
To make money, to get richer 12.3
For public health 8.1
To get political support, votes 6.8
To divert attention from truth 3.4
To grant more freedoms 2.2
Other reasons 7.7
Source: AmericasBarometer by LAPOP
18. 55.3
51.2
41.6
38.3
38.0
0.0 10.0 20.0 30.0 40.0 50.0 60.0
Country's fight agaisnt drug-trafficking
Country's individual freedoms
Country's health care system
Country in general
Country's security situation
Average
95 % Confidence Interval
(with Design-Effects)
Source: AmericasBarometer, LAPOP, 2014
Uruguayans believed that the law would have a positive
impact in the fight against trafficking and advancing
individual freedoms
19. Then, what are the variables associated
with regulation approval?
22. Most important predictors support for
the regulation law
• Number of relatives & friends who use
marijuana
29.4
37.2
49.6
25
30
35
40
45
50
55
None One Two or more
Family or friends consume marijuana
Predicted values 95% Confidence Interval
Source: AmericasBarometer by LAPOP
23. Variables associated to regulation
approval in the United States
Most important predictors to favorable
opinions toward marijuana regulation
• Previous experiences with marijuana
• President’s job approval
• Ideology: Being a liberal
• Support for the political system (negative)
• Age: young people
24. 10.0
20.0
30.0
40.0
50.0
60.0
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9Left Right
Ideology (left / right)
Source: AmericasBarometer LAPOP
40.0
50.0
60.0
70.0
80.0
90.0
Agreewithregulation/legalization?(%)
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9Liberal Conservative
Ideology (liberal / conservative)
Source: AmericasBarometer LAPOP
Ideological orientations play an important role
in both Uruguay and the U.S.
Uruguay United States
But it is crucial in Uruguay…
25. In sum
The President’s popularity played a key role in
the regulation of marijuana in Uruguay
Although people have mixed feelings toward
marijuana regulation, the law did not find
significant popular opposition because it was
not salient to the general public, even as it was
framed as an alternative to tackle increasing
problems of security
27. Prevalence evolution in Uruguay
• Marijuana consumption has been increasing in
Uruguay since we have reliable measures of
prevalence
• Life prevalence has quadrupled from 2001 to 2014
• Annual prevalence increased by six times from 2001
to 2011
• Monthly prevalence increased by ten during the
same period
28. Prevalence Evolution in Uruguay
0
5
10
15
20
25
2001 2006 2011 2014
Life Prevalence Year Prevalence
Month Prevalence
Source: Encuesta Nacional sobre Consumo de Drogas en Hogares, Observatorio Uruguayo de Drogas &
AmericasBarometer 2014
29. Marijuana Prevalence in Youth
• Starting age: in 2011 was 18.3
• But, the results of the National Survey of
High School Students (from 13 to 17
years old) indicate that year prevalence
has doubled in ten years:
– 8.4% in 2003 and 17% in 2014
30. Year Prevalence Evolution in
Secondary Students (%)
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
2003 2005 2007 2009 2011 2014
Year
Prevalence in Students
Source: Encuesta Nacional sobre Consumo de Drogas en Hogares, Observatorio Uruguayo de Drogas
31. Marijuana Year Prevalence and Daily
Consumers
In 2011, year prevalence was 8.3%
Daily consumers: 14.6% of 8.3%,
approximately 18,700 Uruguayans
Around 11,000 more uncovered by the
household survey
33. Evidence from a List Experiment
List experiment rationale
It is a technique used to measure sensitive
topics while avoiding social desirability
effect
It has been used to measure racism,
clientelism and drugs consumption.
It works comparing the percentage
obtained from a direct question with the
one obtained with an indirect question.
34. Evidence from a List Experiment:
Indirect question
AmericasBarometer 2014, Uruguay
MAREX1 and MAREX2
Now I am going to give you a card in which you will
find several products, and I want you to tell me
HOW MANY do you use. Please, do not tell me which
ones, tell me HOW MANY: 0 1 2 3 4 5
Options:
- Alcohol
- Yerba mate
- Tabacco
- Shark cartilage
- Marijuana
35. Evidence from a List Experiment:
Direct question
AmericasBarometer 2014, Uruguay
Some people use or have at least experimented
with marijuana. Have you ever tried marijuana?
(1) No, never
(2) Yes, one time
(3) Yes, two or more times
(88) DK
(98) DA
36. List Experiment Analysis
Compare control group mean with treatment
group mean
The prevalence is obtained by subtracting the
mean of the control group, from the mean of
the treatment group
Finally, compare that number with the one
from the direct question
37. No underreporting
At least in March 2014, with the new law
of marijuana legalization, no
underreporting of marijuana
consumption existed in Uruguay
22.7% vs 22.1%
38. Life Prevalence of Marijuana in
Uruguay, El Salvador and US (2014)
Data follow similar distribution of
support for marijuana legalization
URUGUAY EL SALVADOR UNITED STATES
Have tried 22.1% 11.2% 57.9%
Haven’t tried 77.9% 88.8% 42.1%
42. In Sum
Data are reliable
– Long series and different measures
All prevalence types have increased
– Specially among youth and those under 18
Red flags about law implementation
– Need to focus on prevention
44. How did we reach frequent
consumers in Montevideo?
Respondent Driven Sample survey- RDS
RDS
Developed by Douglas Heckathorn (1997)
Participants in the study and recruited by
other participants
Snowball sample + weight system to
compensate for non-random sampling
Ideal sampling method for hard to reach
populations
45. Our study: RDS frequent
marijuana consumers
Target group
Individuals age 18 or more
Who live in Montevideo or Montevideo
metropolitan area
Who consume marijuana at least once a week
Data collection: Nov 14 – Dec 28, 2014
294 effective cases
Data analysis conducted with RDS Analyst*
* Mark S. Handcock, Ian E. Fellows, Krista J. Gile (2014) RDS Analyst: Software for the
Analysis of Respondent-Driven Sampling Data, Version 0.42, URL http://hpmrg.org.
46. Recruitment process
Five seeds with diverse backgrounds in
terms of age, gender, consumption
patterns and SES
Each participant was given three
coupons to recruit new participants
Each participant was given gift cards:
USD 25 for attending the interview
USD 20 for each valid referee (up to three)
49. Settings for the analyses
Data analysis using RDS Analyst
Population Parameters using:
Giles ‘SS
1000 iterations
95 % Confidence interval
500 Bootstraps
Assuming population size of 15.000 (for
Montevideo and Metro area)
Homophily tests (for recruiters) show no
problematic results
Tested for gender and method of obtaining
marijuana
50. Respondents are really high-frequency
users
8.5
16.9
21.8
7.8
13.4
2.7
29.1
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Number of days that consumes
marijuana in a week
51. With mostly moderate consumption
patterns
26.0
37.4
26.3
5.3
2.5 2.5
Less than 1
gr
One gram Between 1
and 3 grams
More than 3
and up to 5
More than 5
and up to 10
More than 10
grams
Amount consumed per day (during the days
they actually consume)
52. Individuals use several methods for acquiring
marijuana, many of them still illegal
61.8
36.7
59.0
37.9
27.4
14.0
73.9
81.2
5.8
Bought pressed mj directly
Bought flowers directly
Someone bought pressed mj for them
Someone bought flowers for them
Self-grow (individual)
Self-grow (group)
Gifted pressed mj
Gifted flowers
Other ways
Methods used to acquire marijuana in the
past 12 months (%)
54. Pressed marijuana is the most popular
method of acquisition
40.6
3.5
20.9
7.6
5.5
4.3
10.3
6.9
Bought pressed mj directly
Bought flowers directly
Someone bought pressed…
Someone bought flowers for…
Self-grow (individual)
Self-grow (group)
Gifted pressed mj
Gifted flowers
Method of acquisition in most recent
acquisition
55. Respondents consume marijuana in a
variety of forms
92.5
84.5
39.9
26.4
15.7
9.4
6.9
2.2
Joint (self)
joint (other)
Pipe
Edibles
Vaporizers
Drinks
Tinctures
Creams or lotions
Ways of consuming marijuana in the past 12
months (%)
56. And joint is, by far, the most popular
67.2
26.3
5.5
0.7
0.3
Joint (self)
joint (other)
Pipe
Tinctures
Vaporizers
Most frequent way of consuming marijuana (%)
57. Risk Behavior: Individuals perform a
variety of activities under the influence
of marijuana
11.2
21.4
28.4
54.0
98.6
Operated heavy equipment
Drove a care
Rode a motorbike
Rode a bike
Walked in public areas
Percentage of individuals who report having done
these activities under the influence of marijuana
58. Including going to work and to class
under the influence
55.4
62.7
Consumed mj before
going to work
Consumed mj before
going to class
Percentage who consumed marijuana
before going to work and to class
59. Attending classes under the influence clearly affects
performance negatively but there is no consensus on
impact at work
33.5
30.1
36.1
63.8
21.6
14.2
Diminishes Same Increases
Reported performance under the influence of
marijuana (versus going sober) (%)
Performance at work Performance in class
60. The Marijuana Law is highly popular among
frequent consumers
88.9% agree with Marijuana Law
52.1% agree
36.8% agree a lot
Attitudes toward the Marijuana
Law among frequent consumers
61. The registry system required by the law
not quite so…
31.1
26.9
19.6 19.6
0.6 2.1
Surely Probably Probably
NO
Surely NO Already
registered
DK
Will you register as a marijuana user?
(%)
62. Individuals see a high opportunity cost
in registering
20.9
18.8
36.6
0.1
22.9
0.7
Lack of trust
in the
registry
Rejection to
the idea of
registry
Don’t see
any gains in
being
registered
Don’t want
to limit ways
of access
Other
reasons
DK
Reasons for not registering
(Percentage among those who say they will surely or
probably not register)
63. But the controversial pharmacy-selling
is the preferred method for those who
plan to register
30.1
12.8
55.9
1.3
Self-grow Cannabis Clubs Pharmacies DK
Preferred form of access
(% those who will register)
64. Law implementation will face many challenges,
especially:
– Individuals rely in more than one method to
acquire marijuana despite the provisions of the law
– Rejection to the registry
There is little perception of risk among
consumers
Previous points illustrate challenges that
marijuana law is facing:
– Poor communication strategy
– Lack of prevention strategies
In Sum