@article{ref1,
title="Contextual influences of illicit adolescent marijuana cultivation and trading in the Inqguza Hill local municipality of South Africa: implications for public health  policy",
journal="Substance abuse treatment, prevention, and policy",
year="2021",
author="Douglas, Mbuyiselo and Manu, Emmanuel and Ntsaba, Mohlomi Jafta",
volume="16",
number="1",
pages="e6-e6",
abstract="BACKGROUND: Although commercial cultivation and trading of marijuana, commonly known as cannabis or dagga in the South African context, remains an illicit practice,  adolescents actively engage in it. However, contextual influences that sustain  adolescent involvement in illicit marijuana-related activties remain empirically  unascertained. <br><br>OBJECTIVE: This study sought to ascertain the various contextual  influences of adolescent illicit marijuana cultivation and trading in two  communities in the Ingquza Hill Local Municipality (IHLM) of South Africa, using the  tenets of the Socio-Ecological Model (SEM). <br><br>METHODS: The study utilised focus group  discussions approach to interview thirty-three purposefully sampled participants who  were recruited through the snowball sampling technique. A semi-structured interview  guide was used to conduct the interviews, while thematic content analysis was used  to analyse the data. <br><br>RESULTS: We found that illicit adolescent marijuana cultivation  and trading was influenced by eleven contextual factors that are grouped under four  levels of socio-ecological influence. These include intrapersonal influences  (knowledge and skills in marijuana cultivation and courage), interpersonal  influences (peer and family influences), communal level influences (economic  reasons, early childhood exposure to marijuana activities, protection of family  lands, the topography of the area and soil fertility) and policy-related influences  (lack of communal bylaws on marijuana activities and laxity in law enforcement). <br><br>CONCLUSION: It is recommended that substance abuse prevention policies and  programmes focus on discouraging children from engaging in illicit marijuana  activities in IHLM across the four tenets of SEM and curtailing adolescent  involvement in marijuana cultivation and trading. There is also the need to  incorporate the law enforcement approach into demand reduction strategies of the  National Drug Master Plan (NDMP), which employs only an educative approach in its  current form. Working agreements between municipal authorities, law enforcement  agents and social service professionals also need to be strengthened to push demand  reduction strategies for marijuana in communities to protect the rights of children  as enshrined in the Children's Act, 38 of 2005.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="1747-597X",
doi="10.1186/s13011-020-00338-7",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s13011-020-00338-7"
}