The current study examines the patterns of youth participation in cannabis cultivation by developing a typology among a sample of young offenders (n=175) in a rural region of Quebec, Canada known for its extensive outdoor cultivation industry. A hierarchical cluster analysis approach is used to group participants on various dimensions: motivation, substance use, delinquency and type of participation in cannabis cultivation. We also explore the role that criminal networks have in structuring the nature of youth involvement in the cultivation industry. Two general categories of participants emerged: participants for which cultivation is mainly a money generating activity (Entrepreneurs and Generalists), and participants who grow for personal use and intangible rewards (Hobbyists). Further, we found another group, the “helpers”, who qualify as “participants” to the cultivation industry, but not as “growers” per se. For generalists, participation to the cultivation industry is found among a portfolio of other crimes, while entrepreneurs tend to specialize in cultivation and are rewarded by achieving a higher level of success. Our results also suggest a correlation between the intensity of involvement in cultivation and the size of a youth's criminal network.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
AdlafE. M.Paglia-BoakA.2007Drug use among Ontario students 1977–2007. Toronto, ON: Centre for Addiction and Mental Health.
2.
AldenderferM. S.BlashfieldR. K.1984Cluster analysis. Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications.
BattinS. R.HillK. G.AbbottR. D.CatalanoR. F.HawkinsJ. D.1998The contribution of gang membership to delinquency beyond delinquent friends. Criminology, 36 (1), 93–115.
5.
BlumsteinA.1986Dimensions of active career criminals. In BlumsteinA.CohenJ.RothJ. A.VisherC. A. (Eds.), Criminal careers and “career criminals” (Vol. 1, pp. 55–95). Washington: National Academy Press.
6.
BouchardM.2007A capture-recapture model to estimate the size of criminal populations and the risks of detection in a marijuana cultivation industry. Journal of Quantitative Criminology, 23, 221–241.
7.
BouchardM.2008Towards a realistic method to estimate cannabis production in industrialized countries. Contemporary Drug Problems.
8.
BouchardM.NguyenH.2010Is it who you know or how many that counts? Criminal networks and cost avoidance in a sample of young offenders. Justice Quarterly.
9.
CaulkinsJ.PaculaR.2006Marijuana markets: Inferences from reports by the household population. Journal of Drug Issues, 36 (1), 173–200.
10.
ClaytonR. R.1995Marijuana in the “Third World”—Appalachia, U.S.A.Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner Publishers.
11.
CoomberR.TurnbullP. J.2007Arenas of drug transactions: Adolescent cannabis transactions in England—Social supply. Journal of Drug Issues, 37 (4), 845–866.
12.
CorkeryJ. M.2002Drug seizure and offender statistics UK 2000. Home Office: London.
13.
ElliottD. S.HuizingaD.MenardS.1989Multiple problem youth: Delinquency, substance use and mental health problems. New York: Springer-Verlag.
FaganJ.1989The social organization of drug use and drug dealing among urban gangs. Criminology, 27 (4), 633–667.
16.
FarringtonD. P.LoeberR.Van KammenW. B.SchmidtL.LoeberM.1996Self-reported delinquency and a combined delinquency seriousness scale based on boys, mothers, and teachers: Concurrent and predictive validity for African-Americans and Caucasians. Criminology, 34 (4), 493–517.
17.
GermainM.GuyonL.LandryM.TremblayJ.BrunelleN.BergeronJ.2005DEP-ADO Grille de dépistage de consommation problématique d'alcool et de drogues chez les adolescents et les adolescentes. Version 3.1, October 2005. Recherche et intervention sur les substances psychoactives—Québec (RISQ).
18.
GettmanJ.2006Marijuana Production in the United States. The Bulletin of Cannabis Reform, December, 1–29.
HafleyS. R.TweksburyR.1996Reefer madness in Bluegrass County: Community structure and roles in the rural Kentucky marijuana industry. Journal of Crime and Justice, 19 (1), 75–92.
21.
HafleyS. R.TewksburyR.1998Evolution and adaptation of economic, social and cultural structures in the rural Kentucky marijuana industry. Humanity and Society, 22 (2), 188–206.
22.
HandsS.EverittB.1987A Monte Carlo study of the recovery of cluster structure in binary data by hierarchical clustering techniques. Multivariate Behavioural Research, 22, 235–243.
23.
HarrisonL. D.EricksonP. G.KorfD. J.BrochuS.BenschopA.2007How much for a dime bag? An exploration of youth drug markets. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 90S, S27–S39.
24.
HaynieD. L.2002Friendship networks and delinquency: The relative nature of peer delinquency. Journal of Quantitative Criminology, 18 (2), 99–134.
HoughM.WarburtonH.FewB.MayT.ManL.WittonJ.2003A growing market: The domestic cultivation of cannabis. Layerthorpe, York: Joseph Rowntree Foundation.
27.
HuizingaD.ElliottD. S.1986Reassessing the reliability and validity of self-report and official measures. Journal of Quantitative Criminology, 2 (4), 293–327.
28.
InciardiJ. A.PottiegerA. E.1991Kids, crack, and crime. Journal of Drug Issues, 21 (2), 257–270.
JohnsonB. D.GolubA.DunlapE.2000The rise and decline of hard drugs, drug markets, and violence in inner-city New York. In BlumsteinA.WallmanJ. (Eds.), The crime drop in America (pp. 164–206). New York: Cambridge University Press.
31.
Journal de Montreal2004La mecque des producteurs de pot en milieu agricole. Journal de Montreal, September 17, 2004.
32.
KazemianL.Le BlancM.2007Differential cost avoidance and successful criminal careers: random or rational?Crime and Delinquency, 53 (1), 38–63.
33.
KleinM. W.MaxsonC. L.2006Street gang patterns and policies. New York: Oxford University Press.
34.
LeblancM.1996MASPAQ, mesures de l'adaptation sociale et personnelle pour les adolescents québécois: manuel et guide d'utilisation (3rd ed.). Montréal, Ecole de psychoéducation, Groupe de recherche sur les adolescents en difficulté, Université de Montréal.
35.
LepitenM.2002Children' Involvement in the Production, Sale and Trafficking of Drugs in Cebu City: A Rapid Assessment. Geneva: International Labor Organization International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labor (IPEC).
36.
LinN.2001Social capital: A theory of social structure and action. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
37.
MaherL.HudsonS. L.2007Women in the drug economy: A metasynthesis of the qualitative literature. Journal of Drug Issues, 37, 805–826.
38.
MalmA. E.KinneyB.PollardN. R.2008Social network and distance correlates of criminal associates involved in illicit drug production. Security Journal, 21, 77–94.
39.
MalmA. E.TitaG. E.2006A spatial analysis of green teams: A tactical response to marijuana production in British Columbia. Policy Sciences, 39, 361–377.
40.
MatsuedaR. L.AndersonK.1998The dynamics of delinquent peers and delinquent behavior. Criminology, 36 (2), 269–308.
41.
MatsuedaR. L.GartnerR.PiliavinI.PolakowskiM.1992The prestige of criminal and conventional occupations: A subcultural model of criminal activity. American Sociological Review, 57 (6), 752–770.
42.
McCarthyB.1996The attitudes and actions of others: Tutelage and Sutherland' theory of Differential Association. British Journal of Criminology, 36 (1), 135–147.
43.
McCarthyB.HaganJ.2001When crime pays: Capital, competence, and criminal success. Social Forces, 79 (3), 1035–1059.
44.
McCarthyB.HaganJ.1995Getting into street crime: The structure and process of criminal embeddedness. Social Science Research, 24, 63–95.
45.
MorrisonS.1997The dynamics of illicit drugs production: Future sources and threats. Crime, Law, & Social Change, 27, 121–138.
46.
MorselliC.TremblayP.2004Criminal achievement, offender networks and the benefits of low self-control. Criminology, 42 (3), 773–804.
47.
PiliavinI.GartnerR.ThorntonC.MatsuedaR. L.1986Crime, deterrence, and rational choice. American Sociological Review, 51 (1), 101–119.
48.
PlecasD.MalmA.KinneyB.2005Marihuana Growing Operations in British Columbia Revisited. Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice. University of the Fraser Valley, Abbotsford.
49.
PotterG. R.2006Weed, need and greed: Domestic marijuana production and the UK cannabis market. University of Sheffield, Sheffield.
50.
PotterG. R.DannS. L.2005Urban crop circles: Urban cannabis growers in the north of England. In PalaciosW. R. (Ed.), Cocktails and dreams: Perspectives on drug and alcohol use (pp. 89–109). Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall.
51.
PotterG.GainesL.HolbrookB.1990Blowing smoke: An evaluation of marijuana eradication in Kentucky. American Journal of Police, 9 (1), 97–116.
52.
PunjG.StewartD. W.1983Cluster analysis in marketing research: Review and suggestions for application. Journal of Marketing Research, 20, 134–148.
53.
RobitailleC.2004A qui profite le crime? Les facteurs individuels de la reussite criminelle (Who benefits from crime? Individual predictors of criminal success). Criminologie, 37 (2), 33–62.
54.
RomesburgH. C.1984Cluster analysis for researchers. Belmont, CA: Lifetime Learning Publications.
55.
Royal Canadian Mounted Police2004Drug Situation in Canada—-2003. Criminal Intelligence Directorate. Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Ottawa.
56.
SarneckiJ.2001Delinquent networks: Youth co-offending in Sweden. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
57.
SharpC.AldridgeJ.MedinaJ.2006Delinquent youth groups and offending behaviour: Findings from the 2004 Offending, Crime and Justice Survey. London, England: Home Office.
SmartR. G.AdlafE.M.WalshG. W.1992Adolescent drug sellers: trends, characteristics and profiles. British Journal of Addiction, 87, 1561–1570.
60.
SPSS for Windows, Rel. 16.0.1. 2007Chicago: SPSS Inc.
61.
SteinbergM.K.HobbsJ.J.MathewsonK.2004Dangerous harvest: Drug plants and the transformation of indigenous landscapes. New York: Oxford University Press.
ThornberryT. P.KrohnM. D.2000The self-report method for measuring delinquency and crime. Criminal Justice, 4, 33–83.
64.
TremblayP.MorselliC.2000Patterns in criminal achievement: Wilson and Abrahamse revisted. Criminology, 38 (2), 633–659.
65.
WarnerR.1986Invisible hand: The marijuana business. New York: Morrow/Avon.
66.
WarrM.1996Organization and instigation in delinquent groups. Criminology, 34 (1), 11–37.
67.
WarrM.2002Companions in crime: The social aspects of criminal conduct. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
68.
WeisheitR. A.1991aDrug use among domestic marijuana growers. Contemporary Drug Problems, Summer, 191–217.
69.
WeisheitR. A.1991bThe intangible rewards from crime: The case of domestic marijuana cultivation. Crime and Delinquency, 37 (4), 506–527.
70.
WeisheitR. A.1992Domestic Marijuana: A Neglected Industry. Westport: Greenwood Press.
71.
WeisheitR.A.1993Studying drugs in rural areas: Notes from the field. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, 30 (2), 213–232.
72.
WestermeyerJ.2004Opium and the people of Laos. In SteinbergM. K.HobbsJ. J.MathewsonK. (Eds.), Dangerous harvest: Drug plants and the transformation of indigenous landscapes. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
73.
WilkinsC.CasswellS.2003Organized crime in cannabis cultivation in New Zealand: An economic analysis. Contemporary Drug Problems, 30, 757–777.
74.
WilkinsC.BhattaK.CasswellS.2002The effectiveness of cannabis crop eradication operations in New Zealand. Drug and Alcohol Review, 21 (4), 369–374.
