A new report by US researchers calls on the country's federal government to take the lead in regulating cannabis more strictly in the interest of public health.
The report from the U.S. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) was compiled by members of the NASEM Committee on the Public Health Impact of the Changing Cannabis Policy Landscape.
Looking at countries like Canada and Uruguay, which have pursued legalization with a stricter focus on public health, the researchers believe that the U.S. federal government is in some way It says there is a need to bring more consistency to the dozens of different state law models that allow for. Use access to cannabis.
The U.S. approach to legalization generally focuses more on revenue generation for private companies as well as various levels of government through taxes and regulatory fees. At the same time, both Canada and Uruguay introduced policies that emphasized concerns for public health over private interests and individual freedoms.
The report also calls on the U.S. federal government to close loopholes in the 2018 Farm Bill's cannabis regulations that led to the proliferation of underregulated semi-synthetic cannabinoids like delta-8THC.
“Existing state cannabis policies were developed without a public health strategy. Regulations vary by state, limiting public health efforts to prevent harmful use. In contrast, countries such as Canada and Uruguay Some countries have adopted a more cautious approach with tighter government control over cannabis products and how they are sold or consumed. These stricter regulatory frameworks better protect public health. There is a possibility.”
This committee was tasked with recommending a harm reduction approach to cannabis policy and setting a policy research agenda for the next five years.
“A coordinated public health approach to cannabis policy is urgently needed in the United States,” said the report's committee chair and senior director at the university's Leonard D. Schaefer Center for Health Policy and Economics. said researcher Steven Teutsch. of Southern California.
“Our report finds that cannabis policy often focuses first on regulating sales and profits and then on protecting public health. It’s time for the federal government to take charge of public health. It's time to create guidance for states that have legalized marijuana to protect them.”
Many of the recommendations reflect the approaches to cannabis legalization and regulation taken by Canada and Uruguay, and the report also examines the models in detail. From the report:
“Existing state cannabis policies were developed without a public health strategy. Regulations vary by state, limiting public health efforts to prevent harmful use. In contrast, countries such as Canada and Uruguay Some countries have adopted a more cautious approach with tighter government control over cannabis products and how they are sold or consumed. These stricter regulatory frameworks better protect public health. There is a possibility.”
In contrast, the state law approach in the United States has meant little oversight over things like enforcing age restrictions and advertising restrictions. The report also raises serious concerns about how the current “vague definition of hemp” in the 2018 Farm Bill is leading to a largely unregulated market for semi-synthetic intoxicating cannabinoids. It has been stated.
The report includes several recommendations.
Congress should refine the definition of “hemp” to make clear that hemp-derived tetrahydrocannabinol and semi-synthetic cannabinoids are not exempt from the Controlled Substances Act. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in collaboration with other federal agencies, should conduct and develop research on best practices to protect public health in states that have legalized cannabis, drawing on tobacco and alcohol policy. There is. These best practices should include marketing restrictions (such as advertising and packaging), age restrictions, brick-and-mortar and retail business restrictions, taxation, price limits, product design, and measures to limit youth access. There is. Other strategies to protect public health that warrant identifying best practices include reducing marijuana-impaired driving, promoting state retail monopolies, and encouraging cultivation practices that limit contamination of both products and the environment. and so on. Best practices should be regularly revisited and updated as new research is published. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention should work with federal, state, tribal, and territorial partners to create an adaptable public health surveillance system for cannabis. This monitoring system should include, at a minimum, cannabis cultivation and product sales, usage patterns, and health effects. It should also include all important elements of a public health surveillance system: surveillance planning, data collection, data analysis, data interpretation, data dissemination, links to action, and periodic evaluation. The United States Pharmacopoeia establishes product quality and analytical standards for cannabis inflorescences (flowers) and develops standards for cannabis extracts incorporated into tablets and edibles. Once these standards are finalized, state cannabis regulators must adopt and enforce them to ensure the safety and quality of all legal cannabis products. State cannabis regulators must require training and certification for all cannabis retail staff who interact with customers. Training will cover the effects of cannabis on humans, preventing sales to minors, cannabis impaired driving warnings, cannabis use during pregnancy, highly concentrated or potent products, and how to identify signs of impairment. There is a need. You should evaluate the effectiveness of your training and update your content as new scientific information emerges about the positive and negative effects of cannabis. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in conjunction with other relevant agencies, is working with other relevant agencies to provide health care services aimed primarily at parents and vulnerable populations, including young people, people who are pregnant or may become pregnant, and older adults. Targeted public health campaigns need to be developed and evaluated. 65 years old) about the potential risks of cannabis. How to identify risky behaviors, such as using cannabis in combination with alcohol or prescription drugs. and risk mitigation strategies such as low-risk usage guidelines and safe storage. These public health campaigns should include discouraging unhealthy uses such as the combination of cannabis and other substances (alcohol, tobacco, drugs) and the increased risks associated with the use of highly concentrated or highly potent products. Congress should remove restrictions on the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) studying the effects of marijuana legalization. ONDCP should be allowed to support research on the impact of cannabis policy changes. Jurisdictions responsible for enforcing cannabis laws should strive to regularly collect and report detailed data on the use of criminal enforcement tools to enforce cannabis policies. State cannabis regulators should systematically evaluate their cannabis social equity policies and revise them as necessary to ensure they meet stated goals and minimize unintended consequences. Policy makers must engage meaningfully with members of affected communities when developing or revising these policies. When states legalize or decriminalize the use and sale of cannabis for adults, criminal justice reforms should be implemented and records automatically expunged or sealed for low-level cannabis-related crimes. National Institutes of Health; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. state, local, and tribal health authorities; And private organizations should support research questions focused on: the public health outcomes of different approaches to cannabis regulation, the effectiveness of tests used to determine cannabis disorder, and the health of cannabis use by specific populations. Impacts (by product, quantity, frequency) Emerging cannabis health effects products, and • Reducing the risks of cannabis use.
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