International Journal on Criminology Volume 6, Number 2, Winter 2018/Spring 2019 | Page 21

International Journal on Criminology
process: it controls production, prices, the nature of the varieties produced, and
their THC (Tetrahydrocannabinol) levels, as well as supervising distribution.
In Uruguay, cannabis is not considered to be a commodity like any another,
and a public health aspect is also present. By contrast, in the two US states, a
significant amount of room has been left for market principles (for-profit regulation),
and a full-fledged private cannabis industry is emerging, with its operators,
financial specialists, law offices, and lobbyists. The dynamic of this new legal and
economic sector is leading to an increase in production volumes and to a diversification
in the supply of cannabis and its derivative products. It is therefore
possible to distinguish between a Uruguayan “statist model,” where private supply
is strictly supervised by the public sector, and an American “private commercial
model,” which encourages a “responsible” industry with less regulation (based on
the alcohol model).
An Increase in Consumption among People aged
Seventeen and over
In the two US states, where people under the age of twenty-one are prohibited
from using cannabis, public health officials focus on preventing minors
from consuming it by restricting their access to supply (such as no stores near
places frequented by young people, no advertising, and no marketing) and by investing
in prevention and education. With this aim in mind, minimal visibility of
cannabis in public spaces is required: consumption in the street is prohibited for
everyone (including adults), as is the case with alcohol. According to the statistics,
after three years of reforms, annual use of marijuana among minors (ages 12-17)
has sharply declined in Washington State as well as in Colorado, even though it
remains above the American average: 13.5 percent and 16.2 percent respectively
compared to 12.2 percent nationally.
For young people aged 18-25, there has been a definite increase in cannabis
use in Colorado and in Washington State. The use of cannabis by those aged twenty-six
and over has significantly and even strongly increased in Colorado. All of
this suggests that the legalization of cannabis, along with an increase in legal supply,
has disinhibited a portion of adults. It is hard to say whether this phenomenon
will last or if it is a short-term effect of legalization. Whatever the case may be, out
of the fifty American states, Colorado and Washington State have risen to become
the largest consumers of marijuana.
In Uruguay, the first years of implementation of the new regulatory policy—almost
forty years after cannabis use was decriminalized in 1974—did not
orado vs Uruguay: Deux modes opposés de légalisation du cannabis,” Drogues, santé et société 1
(March 2018). Available at: http://drogues-sante-societe.ca/colorado-vs-uruguay-deux-modesopposes-de-legalisation-du-cannabis/
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