Cannabis growers as gardeners: results from a survey among Italian and British small-scale growers

The horticultural nature of growing cannabis is often overlooked in the study of cannabis production, and subsequent policies. Little is known about whether growers’ horticultural expertise influences cannabis cultivation methods, the growing of other psychoactive plants, substance use behaviors, or interactions with the criminal justice system. The trajectory of cultivation, in terms of whether cannabis is a gateway to more general gardening, or vice versa, is also unexplored. Studying individuals who combine cannabis cultivation with other gardening activities is valuable because it provides insights into the motivations and practices of cannabis growers as illegal drug market participants.

Data from 1302 small-scale cannabis growers in Italy and the UK was collected through an online survey from 2020 to 2021. We ran two regressions to compare (1) those who only grow cannabis with those who also grow other plants and; (2) those who started growing cannabis and then grew other plants and vice versa.

Most people in our sample grew cannabis and other plants (General Gardeners; 82 %). In comparison with the Only-cannabis group (OCG), General Gardeners (GG) tended to be older, more educated, and more likely to be in a relationship. GG grew more cannabis crops outdoors, and the purposes for growing were more related to ecological or medical reasons rather than selling cannabis. The OCG group had higher odds of using stimulant drugs and meeting cannabis use dependence criteria compared to GG. Among GG, the majority (71 %) started growing other plants and later moved to cannabis.

Gardening other plants is common among cannabis growers and precedes cultivating cannabis far more than the reverse pathway. As general gardeners appear focused on cannabis alone, concerns about spillover to growing other psychoactive plants or fungi may be overstated. Given the lower expected harms associated with general gardening, it could serve as a proxy for reduced supply involvement in legal assessments.