A Safer Way To Legalize Marijuana

Eight US states, the District of Columbia, and the country of Uruguay have recently legalized the recreational use of marijuana, with Canada and more US states poised to do the same. The new laws include limits on youth access, operation of motor vehicles when using, and high-volume purchases or possession. However, none of the laws consider which kinds of marijuana products should and should not be legally sold. While we take no position on the overall desirability of marijuana legalization, we propose here that policy makers in favor of it consider only permitting the sale of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) extracts intended for vaporization or eating, and prohibiting combustible marijuana product sales. While implemented laws allow growing of marijuana for personal use, the policy we propose here would prohibit only the sale of marijuana cigarettes and their makings—flowers, stems, and seeds—to discourage their commercialization and mass production. Those crafting marijuana laws can draw upon lessons learned about the harms of combusted tobacco and the smoking control policies that followed. Given what we already know about the health hazards of combusted marijuana and the difficulty of controlling the sale of commercially established products, policy makers should capitalize on this opportunity to create a legal marijuana market that mitigates potentially significant harms associated with inhaling combusted marijuana while still facilitating desired benefits of rec...
Source: Health Affairs Blog - Category: Health Management Authors: Tags: Featured Public Health drug policy legalization of marijuana Source Type: blogs