Commentaries on Caulkins et al. (2012)
THE LONG AND WINDING ROAD TO
CANNABIS LEGALIZATION
Although some countries have quasi-legalized cannabis use (the Netherlands), made cannabis available for medical purposes (California currently has more than 1000 medical marijuana shops) or allowed the growing of a small number of cannabis plants for personal use (Australia), in most countries (the Netherlands included) cannabis supply, distribution and use is prohibited [1]. Nevertheless, cannabis is the most popular illicit drug. In 2009, between 2.8% and 4.5% of the world population aged 15–64 years, corresponding to between 125 and
203 million people, had used cannabis at least once in the past year [2].