ABSTRACT
The replacement of imported cannabis with domestic home grown over the past two decades has been one of the unsung success stories of UK agro-industry. Law enforcement and the media have publicised the role of large ‘factory’-type operations, often involving coerced labour with illegal residential status. This has diverted attention from the extraordinary proliferation of small-scale cannabis grow operations, now involving hundreds of thousands of cultivators who provide the bulk of the cannabis consumed in the UK. In the eyes of the law, they are suppliers of an illicit and dangerous Class B drug, an offence that carries up to 14 years in prison and an unlimited fine. But in many cases the actual production site is a family home where a particular space has been fitted out for growing a number of plants. Based on interviews with 48 domestic cannabis growers across the UK, we describe the discrepancy between the image conjured by the idea of large-scale criminal supply and the banal reality of home-based, small-scale production. We describe the strategies used to stay under the radar of law enforcement and criminal groups and ways of blending into neighbourhoods and local communities without attracting attention. Finally, we explore the justification growers give for their lifestyle choices, their accommodation with living in breach of the law and their suggestions for changes in the legislative framework for cannabis.
