What Small-Scale Cannabis Growers Look Like Across 11 Countries
A survey of 6,530 cannabis cultivators across 11 countries found most were primarily motivated by personal use rather than profit, with minimal involvement in other criminal activities, challenging the stereotype of cannabis growers as criminals.
Quick Facts
What This Study Found
The Global Cannabis Cultivation Research Consortium surveyed 6,530 predominantly small-scale cannabis growers from 11 countries about their demographics, methods, motivations, and criminal justice contacts.
The findings were remarkably consistent across countries: most growers came from "normal" rather than "deviant" backgrounds. The clear majority were motivated by reasons other than profit, primarily personal use and self-sufficiency.
Minimal involvement in drug dealing or other criminal activities was reported. Some cross-country differences existed, suggesting that local political, geographical, and cultural factors influence how cultivators operate, but the core profile of the personal-use grower was consistent globally.
Key Numbers
6,530 respondents; 11 countries; majority motivated by personal use; minimal involvement in drug dealing; consistent demographic profiles across countries
How They Did This
Online survey of 6,530 cannabis cultivators from 11 countries conducted by the Global Cannabis Cultivation Research Consortium. Descriptive statistics highlighted similarities and differences across national samples.
Why This Research Matters
Drug policy often treats cannabis cultivation as organized crime. This survey showed that most small-scale growers are ordinary people growing for personal use, with profiles very different from commercial drug dealers. This distinction is relevant for proportionate enforcement and legalization design.
The Bigger Picture
As countries design cannabis legalization frameworks, understanding who actually grows cannabis is important. Policies that treat all cultivation as serious crime may disproportionately target low-risk individuals while failing to address commercial trafficking.
What This Study Doesn't Tell Us
Online recruitment creates selection bias (more tech-savvy, English-speaking growers over-represented). Self-reported data may understate criminal involvement. Different recruitment strategies across countries complicate cross-national comparisons. Non-probability sample.
Questions This Raises
- ?How do commercial-scale growers differ from the personal-use growers in this sample?
- ?Would legalization shift cultivation from personal to commercial growing?
- ?How should cultivation laws distinguish between personal and commercial operations?
Trust & Context
- Key Stat:
- Majority grew for personal use, not profit, across all 11 countries
- Evidence Grade:
- Large international sample providing valuable descriptive data, but online recruitment and self-selection bias limit generalizability.
- Study Age:
- Published in 2015. Cannabis legalization in several countries has since created legal frameworks for personal and commercial cultivation.
- Original Title:
- Global patterns of domestic cannabis cultivation: sample characteristics and patterns of growing across eleven countries.
- Published In:
- The International journal on drug policy, 26(3), 226-37 (2015)
- Authors:
- Potter, Gary R(3), Barratt, Monica J(3), Malm, Aili, Bouchard, Martin, Blok, Thomas, Christensen, Anne-Sofie, Decorte, Tom, Frank, Vibeke Asmussen, Hakkarainen, Pekka, Klein, Axel, Lenton, Simon, Perälä, Jussi, Werse, Bernd, Wouters, Marije
- Database ID:
- RTHC-01040
Evidence Hierarchy
A snapshot of a population at one point in time.
What do these levels mean? →Frequently Asked Questions
Who grows cannabis?
This survey found that small-scale growers across 11 countries were demographically similar: mostly male, employed, motivated by personal use rather than profit, and minimally involved in other criminal activities. They came from "normal" rather than "deviant" backgrounds.
Do most growers sell cannabis?
No. The clear majority in this survey were primarily motivated by personal use and self-sufficiency rather than commercial supply. Most had minimal involvement in drug dealing or other criminal activities.
Read More on RethinkTHC
- 420-sober-survival-guide
- CBT-cannabis-recovery
- cannabis-relapse-cycle-pattern
- cold-turkey-vs-taper-quit-weed
- dating-sober-after-quitting-weed
- exercise-quitting-weed-anxiety-brain
- grieving-quitting-weed-loss
- help-someone-quit-weed
- how-to-quit-weed
- journaling-weed-withdrawal
- marijuana-anonymous-SMART-recovery-compare
- meditation-mindfulness-weed-withdrawal
- partner-still-smokes-weed
- partner-still-smokes-weed-quitting
- pink-cloud-sobriety-cannabis
- quit-weed-cold-turkey
- quit-weed-or-cut-back-which-is-better
- quit-weed-regret-went-back
- quitting-weed-20s
- quitting-weed-30s
- quitting-weed-after-years
- quitting-weed-during-crisis-divorce-job-loss
- quitting-weed-exercise
- quitting-weed-grief-loss-coping
- quitting-weed-legal-state
- quitting-weed-success-stories
- quitting-weed-triggers-environment
- relapsed-smoking-weed-what-to-do
- relapsed-weed
- should-i-quit-weed
- sober-music-festival-concert-without-weed
- supplements-weed-withdrawal
- telling-friends-quitting-weed
- weed-relapse-prevention-plan
- weed-relapse-why-it-happens
- weed-ritual-replacement
- weed-ruined-relationships
- weed-social-media-triggers-quit
Cite This Study
https://rethinkthc.com/research/RTHC-01040APA
Potter, Gary R; Barratt, Monica J; Malm, Aili; Bouchard, Martin; Blok, Thomas; Christensen, Anne-Sofie; Decorte, Tom; Frank, Vibeke Asmussen; Hakkarainen, Pekka; Klein, Axel; Lenton, Simon; Perälä, Jussi; Werse, Bernd; Wouters, Marije. (2015). Global patterns of domestic cannabis cultivation: sample characteristics and patterns of growing across eleven countries.. The International journal on drug policy, 26(3), 226-37. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugpo.2014.12.007
MLA
Potter, Gary R, et al. "Global patterns of domestic cannabis cultivation: sample characteristics and patterns of growing across eleven countries.." The International journal on drug policy, 2015. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugpo.2014.12.007
RethinkTHC
RethinkTHC Research Database. "Global patterns of domestic cannabis cultivation: sample cha..." RTHC-01040. Retrieved from https://rethinkthc.com/research/potter-2015-global-patterns-of-domestic
Access the Original Study
Study data sourced from PubMed, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health.
This study breakdown was produced by the RethinkTHC research team. We analyze and report published research findings without making health recommendations. All interpretations are based solely on the published abstract and study data.