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The purpose of this paper is to introduce the special issue on Illicit Cannabis Cultivation in a Time of Policy Change.

The paper reviews some of the different adaptations made by cannabis growers in countries where cannabis has not been legalised.

Cannabis growers are adjusting to different legal settings by focusing on home production. Participation in cultivation is a crime, but can also be activism: an effort to change the law. Medical use of cannabis is a particularly important driver here. Having to break the law to alleviate symptoms and treat illnesses provides both a greater sense of urgency and a level of sympathy not usually granted to illicit drug users.

Grass-roots advocacy may drive policy change.

This is an original assessment of current state of knowledge on cannabis cultivation in countries where cannabis cultivation remains restricted.

The purpose of this paper is to assess participants’ perception that tramadol enhances physical work performance and acts as a pain relief.

The participants were 30 (18 male and 12 female) tramadol-using emerging adults, aged 16–27 years, selected through respondent-driven sampling. The majority of the participants were university students, whereas others had completed senior secondary education. The study adopted a qualitative design. Qualitative data were analysed using thematic analyses.

In general, respondents perceived and used tramadol for pain relief and physical work performance enhancement. The result showed that sex, employment status and daily dosage were not associated with respondents’ perception of tramadol as a pain-relieving medication. In contrast, sex and employment status were associated with participants’ perception of tramadol as a physical work performance enhancement medication, but daily dosage was not.

Some users refused to participate because they were afraid of being exposed to law enforcement.

Male and female emerging adults are involved in non-medical use of tramadol. Prevention and intervention programs to reduce or stop this behaviour are needed, especially in the rural communities.

The result showed that users were mostly from poor homes, whose parents could not afford university education and who were not qualified to get good government paying jobs. So, the use of tramadol became necessary for them to make more money from the kind of jobs they did. Reduction of the cost of university education and provision of regular jobs for this population are some of the measures recommended to counter non-medical use of tramadol by this population.

This is the first study in South-eastern Nigeria that focused on the non-medical use of tramadol among emerging adults, using a qualitative design.

The purpose of this paper is to illustrate the opportunities for tobacco farmers in Malawi from diversifying to cannabis, and the potential benefits for reducing deforestation by producing a cannabis based alternative fuel. It further argues that there are tensions between the conflicting objectives of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control and the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs.

Field interviews were conducted with cannabis farmers, traders and sellers in different parts of Malawi.

The findings of this study show that there are opportunities for cannabis farmers but they have been blocked by legal impediments. Now that legislative reform have made cannabis cultivation possible, farmers need support in developing products.

Any attempt to provide a precise assessment of the cannabis market in Malawi is constrained by the criminalised status of the product. The suitability of cannabis briquettes as an fuel has yet to be trialled in Malawi.

There is an urgent need to revise the drug control conventions to address environmental degradation and deforestation.

The linkage between tobacco farming, deforestation and desertification in Malawi has not been made. This is the first time that hemp has been suggested as an alternative crop for farmers and as a solution to deforestation.

The purpose of this paper is to throw a new light on the online adult entertainment industry and help remove the stigma associated with it.

An ethnographic approach was taken, with participant observation and in-depth interviews with a number of informants.

This is an environment where female performers can enjoy good income opportunities and work in a safe environment. It also provides a high level of job security for technical support staff.

The study used a sample sample size with no access to clients.

It is important that UK regulation remains light handed to avoid pushing the industry off shore.

The paper provides new data on the working environment in camming studios and positive aspects of job security and the equitable distribution of profits.

In two separate sections the authors summarise the observations, use the insights to reflect on some of the propositions made in the book, and follow the appeal of one of the authors to civil society and academics to “help governments out of the drug policy dilemma that is now facing them”. The paper aims to discuss this issue.

The genre the authors follow here is ethnography and the material takes the form of reflective field notes. Since each author follows a particular set of interests the authors split the paper into two sections. There are no strong conclusions, safe that the concerns about the international drug control system were fully borne out by events on the floor.

The role of CSOs is critical in moving the process forward – but countries are likely to drift apart as the policy differences are becoming inrreconcilable.

It is imperative to develop new models of cooperation in the management of psychactive substances.

This is in recognition that at national level just as much as at Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) and UN General Assembly Special Session the increased involvement of CSOs has been pivotal in shifting focus towards public health and human rights. This in turn has encouraged some nations to do the same in their domestic policies – and to stand up and say so in CND meetings.

More involvement of academics and editorial teams in the design of sustainable policies and practices.

In a critical report on the CND the authors challenge the viability of the international drug control regime in view of the emerging differences between different member states. This is the first attempt in the drug policy literature to assess the durability of the drug control regime as it is faced by the fast paced transformation of cannabis into a recognised medicine and regulated recreational substance. If the appearance of agreement is maintained this is entirely for diplomatic reasons and organisational benefit. In reality, the system is breaking apart and new methods for regulating drugs are emerging.