scholarly journals The costs and benefits of cannabis control policies

2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. 281-287
Keyword(s):  
Developed Countries ◽  
Cannabis Use ◽  
Costs And Benefits ◽  
Medical Cannabis ◽  
Considerable Uncertainty ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
The Face ◽  
Cannabis Policy ◽  
Recreational Use ◽  
Harmful Effects

As is the case for most drugs, cannabis use has costs and benefits, and so do the policies that attempt to minimize the first and maximize the second. This article summarizes what we know about the harmful effects of recreational cannabis use and the benefits of medical cannabis use under the policy of prohibition that prevailed in developed countries until 2012. It outlines three broad ways in which cannabis prohibition may be relaxed, namely, the depenalization of personal possession and use, the legalization of medical use, and the legalization of adult recreational use. It reviews evidence to date on the impacts of each of these forms of liberalization on the costs and benefits of cannabis use. It makes some plausible conjectures about the future impacts of the commercialization of cannabis using experience from the commercialization of the alcohol, tobacco, and gambling industries. Cannabis policy entails unavoidable trade-offs between competing social values in the face of considerable uncertainty about the effects that more liberal cannabis policies will have on cannabis use and its consequences for better or worse.

scholarly journals Risk and Protective Factors Associated with Cannabis Use in Massachusetts Youth

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julie Johnson ◽  
Samantha Doonan
Keyword(s):  
Protective Factors ◽  
Risk Behavior ◽  
Sexual Behaviors ◽  
Risky Behaviors ◽  
Risk And Protective Factors ◽  
Cannabis Use ◽  
Sensitivity Analyses ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
Medical Cannabis ◽  
Cannabis Policy

Cannabis policies are continuously evolving, over half of U.S. youth now live in a state with a form of legalized cannabis. Monitoring risk and protective factors is critical to ensure evidence-based youth prevention in this post cannabis-prohibition era. Massachusetts has enacted and implemented three forms of legalization: (1) Decriminalization (2008), (2) medical cannabis (2012), and (3) adult-use cannabis (2016). This study used state Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) data of participants in grades 9-12 from 2007-2017 (N=17,691). Logistical regression models were run to assess effects of varying cannabis policy and risk or protective behaviors on cannabis use outcomes: (1) Lifetime use; (2) Past 30-day; and (3) Past 30-day heavy use. The enactment of cannabis policies was not associated with greater odds of youth reporting Lifetime and Past 30-day cannabis use behaviors. Any adult-support [heavy use OR=0.43 (95% CI=0.37,0.50), p<.001], better grades [heavy use OR=0.25 (95% CI=0.21,0.29), p<.001], and being heterosexual [heavy use OR=0.42 (95% CI=0.34,0.51), p<.001] were associated with lower odds of all cannabis use outcomes. Multiple risk factors broadly categorized under: risky sexual behaviors, non-heterosexual orientation, weapon carrying/exposure, hopelessness and suicidality behaviors, driving behaviors, and disability were associated with greater odds of cannabis use. Sensitivity analyses showed only one risk behavior was moderate by cannabis policy enactment. Results suggest that cannabis prevention efforts should not occur in a silo, rather evidence-based models for reducing risky behaviors generally may have the largest impact. Building and supporting relationships with trusted adults for youth at higher risk should be emphasized.

scholarly journals POLICY SERIES: REEFER MADNESS, SADNESS, OR GLADNESS? THE CANNABIS AND OLDER PERSONS STUDY

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S203-S203
Author(s):  
Brian P Kaskie ◽  
Julie Bobitt
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Program Implementation ◽  
Policy Development ◽  
Older Persons ◽  
Symptom Relief ◽  
Cannabis Use ◽  
Medical Cannabis ◽  
Dementia Caregivers ◽  
Provider Perspectives ◽  
Cannabis Policy

Abstract In 2016, we began our examination of the intersection between cannabis and older persons by convening focus groups with 163 older adults from senior centers and dispensaries in nine states with varying levels of cannabis legalization. Since then, we have secured competitive research grants and contracts to examine cannabis use among older persons in California, Colorado, Illinois and Iowa. Our work is guided by the primary hypothesis that cannabis use among older persons is shaped by an individual’s calculations concerning risk (e.g., developing a cannabis use disorder, lawbreaking) and reward (e.g., relaxation, symptom relief), and individuals living in a state with a legal cannabis program may perceive less risk and also may be receiving more information about the benefits of cannabis. We also hypothesize that older adults’ access to and use of cannabis is shaped by where they live, particularly defined by local cannabis program implementation efforts and relevant contextual conditions. In this symposium, we will examine our latest work concerning (a) life-span attitudes toward cannabis, (b) clinical perspectives on counseling and certifying older persons for medical cannabis, (c) provider perspectives on state cannabis policy and program implementation, (d) cannabis use among a sample of dementia caregivers and (e) outcomes experienced by older persons who use cannabis for medical or recreational purposes. Our discussion focuses on implication for policy development and program implementation.

scholarly journals Danish cannabis policy revisited: Multiple framings of cannabis use in policy discourse

2021 ◽  
pp. 145507252110186
Author(s):  
Thomas Friis Søgaard ◽  
Maj Nygaard-Christensen ◽  
Vibeke Asmussen Frank
Keyword(s):  
Drug Policy ◽  
Medical Problem ◽  
Organised Crime ◽  
Cannabis Use ◽  
Law And Order ◽  
Medical Cannabis ◽  
Crime Problem ◽  
Policy Problem ◽  
Recent Developments ◽  
Cannabis Policy

Aim: This article traces recent developments in Danish cannabis policy, by exploring how “cannabis use” is problematised and governed within different co-existing policy areas. Background: Recently, many countries have changed their cannabis policy by introducing medical cannabis and/or by moving toward legalisation or decriminalisation. Researchers have thus argued that traditional notions of cannabis as a singular and coherent object, are being replaced by perspectives that highlight the multiple ontological character of cannabis. At the same time, there is growing recognition that drug policy is not a unitary phenomenon, but rather composed by multiple “policy areas”, each defined by particular notions of what constitutes the relevant policy “problem”. Design: We draw on existing research, government reports, policy papers and media accounts of policy and policing developments. Results: We demonstrate how Danish cannabis policy is composed of different co-existing framings of cannabis use; as respectively a social problem, a problem of deviance, an organised crime problem, a health- and risk problem and as a medical problem. Conclusion: While the international trend seems to be that law-and-order approaches are increasingly being replaced by more liberal approaches, Denmark, on an overall level, seems to be moving in the opposite direction: Away from a lenient decriminalisation policy and towards more repressive approaches. We conclude that the prominence of discursive framings of cannabis use as a “problem of deviance” and as “a driver of organised crime”, has been key to this process.

scholarly journals Effects of medical and non-medical cannabis use in older adults: protocol for a scoping review

BMJ Open ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. e034301
Author(s):  
Dianna Wolfe ◽  
Kimberly Corace ◽  
Danielle Rice ◽  
Andra Smith ◽  
Salmaan Kanji ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Scoping Review ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Cannabis Use ◽  
Cochrane Library ◽  
Randomised Trials ◽  
Medical Cannabis ◽  
Related Factors ◽  
Scoping Reviews ◽  
Harmful Effects

IntroductionWith its legalisation and regulation in Canada in 2018, the proportion of Canadians reporting cannabis use in 2019 increased substantially over the previous year, with half of new users being aged 45+ years. While use in older adults has been low historically, as those born in the 1950s and 1960s continue to age, this demographic will progressively have more liberal attitudes, prior cannabis exposure and higher use rates. However, older adults experience slower metabolism, increased likelihood of polypharmacy, cognitive decline and chronic physical/mental health problems. There is a need to enhance knowledge of the effects of cannabis use in older adults. The following question will be addressed using a scoping review approach: what evidence exists regarding beneficial and harmful effects of medical and non-medical cannabis use in adults >50 years of age? Given that beneficial and harmful effects of cannabis may be mediated by patient-level (eg, age, sex and race) and cannabis-related factors (eg, natural vs synthetic, consumption method), subgroup effects related to these and additional factors will be explored.Methods and analysisMethods for scoping reviews outlined by Arksey & O’Malley and the Joanna Briggs Institute will be used. A librarian designed a systematic search of the literature from database inception to June 2019. Using the OVID platform, Ovid MEDLINE will be searched, including Epub Ahead of Print and In-Process and Other Non-Indexed Citations, Embase Classic+Embase, and PsycINFO for reviews, randomised trials, non-randomised trials and observational studies of cannabis use. The Cochrane Library on Wiley will also be searched. Eligibility criteria will be older adult participants, currently using cannabis (medical or non-medical), with studies required to report a cannabis-related health outcome to be eligible. Two reviewers will screen citations and full texts, with support from artificial intelligence. Two reviewers will chart data. Tables/graphics will be used to map evidence and identify evidence gaps.Ethics and disseminationThis research will enhance awareness of existing evidence addressing the health effects of medical and non-medical cannabis use in older adults. Findings will be disseminated through a peer-reviewed publication, conference presentations and a stakeholder meeting.Trial registration numberDOI 10.17605/OSF.IO/5JTAQ.

scholarly journals Prevalence and self-reported reasons of cannabis use for medical purposes in USA and Canada

2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Janni Leung ◽  
Gary Chan ◽  
Daniel Stjepanović ◽  
Jack Yiu Chak Chung ◽  
Wayne Hall ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Age Differences ◽  
Cannabis Use ◽  
North American Population ◽  
Medical Cannabis ◽  
Policy Study ◽  
The North ◽  
Gender And Age ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Gender And Age Differences ◽  
Cannabis Policy

Abstract Rationale There has been increasing attention on cannabis use for medical purposes, but there is currently a lack of data on its epidemiology. Objectives To examine the epidemiology of self-reported cannabis use for medical purposes by (1) estimating its prevalence, (2) comparing gender and age differences, and (3) investigating what reasons they were used to manage. Methods Participants included 27,169 respondents (aged 16–65) who completed Wave 1 of The International Cannabis Policy Study (ICPS) conducted across Canada and the USA in 2018 via online surveys. Cannabis policy conditions were “US legal–recreational” (legal for both recreational and medical uses), “US legal–medical only”, “US illegal”, and “Canada–medical only”. Results The overall prevalence of self-reported ever cannabis use for medical purposes was 27%, with similar rates by sex and the highest prevalence in young adults. Prevalence was higher in US legal–recreational states (34%) than US illegal states (23%), US legal–medical only states (25%), and Canada (25%). The most common physical health reasons include use to manage pain (53%), sleep (46%), headaches/migraines (35%), appetite (22%), and nausea/vomiting (21%). For mental health reasons, the most common were for anxiety (52%), depression (40%), and PTSD/trauma (17%). There were 11% who reported using cannabis for managing other drug or alcohol use and 4% for psychosis. Conclusions A substantial proportion of the North American population self-reported cannabis use for medical purposes for a variety of medical reasons, including those living in jurisdictions without legal markets. Further research is needed to understand the safety and efficacy of these forms of medical cannabis use.

scholarly journals The costs of standardized apprenticeship curricula for training firms

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jürg Schweri ◽  
Manuel Aepli ◽  
Andreas Kuhn
Keyword(s):  
Regulatory Element ◽  
Recent Survey ◽  
Skills Development ◽  
Costs And Benefits ◽  
Apprenticeship Training ◽  
Training Costs ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Training Content ◽  
Productive Process ◽  
Productive Output

AbstractStandardized curricula define the set of skills that must be trained within a training occupation and thus are a key regulatory element of apprenticeship systems. Although clear economic rationales support the usage of such curricula, they necessarily impose costs, especially on firms that train apprentices, but do not use the full set of skills in their productive process and/or train other skills that are not covered by the curriculum. In this paper, we identify the trade-offs involved in setting up training curricula and use data from the most recent survey on the costs and benefits of apprenticeship training among Swiss firms to quantify the associated costs to training firms. On average, training firms state that they do not use 17% of the training content prescribed by the relevant curriculum, and 11% of the companies train additional skills not covered by the curriculum. We show that both kinds of misfit are associated with higher training costs and lower productive output from apprentices. This shows that the regulator imposes costs on firms in order to guarantee broad skills development for apprentices. It also cautions against overly broad curricula that may impose disproportionate costs on firms.

scholarly journals Cannabis Use among Older Persons with Arthritis, Cancer and Multiple Sclerosis: Are We Comparing Apples and Oranges?

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 532
Author(s):  
Brian Kaskie ◽  
Hyojung Kang ◽  
Divya Bhagianadh ◽  
Julie Bobitt
Keyword(s):  
Multiple Sclerosis ◽  
Older Persons ◽  
Behavioral Outcomes ◽  
Cannabis Use ◽  
Medical Cannabis ◽  
Opioid Use ◽  
Quality Of Sleep ◽  
Impact Processes ◽  
Lower Baseline

Although researchers have identified medications that relieve symptoms of multiple sclerosis (MS), none are entirely effective and some persons with multiple sclerosis (PwMS) use alternatives. Our study compared cannabis use among PwMS (N = 135) and persons diagnosed with arthritis (N = 582) or cancer (N = 622) who were age 60 and older, enrolled in the State of Illinois Medical Cannabis Program, and invited to complete a survey fielded between June and September, 2019. We used logistic regression to identify significant differences in self-reported effects of cannabis on psychological wellbeing, quality of life, and three behavioral outcomes, and we also considered effects of past year opioid use relative to these outcomes. We found that the majority of individuals from all groups used cannabis to address pain and improve quality of sleep. While PwMS reported lower baseline levels across all five outcomes, we found that the reported effects of cannabis were largely comparable across the groups. We also found that cannabis benefitted persons with sleep and digestive issues regardless of condition, whereas persons who used opioids in addition to cannabis were less likely to experience an improvement in any of the outcomes. This comparative evaluation suggests that cannabis’ effects are not specific to MS, arthritis, or cancer as much as they impact processes common among these distinct conditions. We also found evidence that cannabis may be a viable alternative to opioids for those with these conditions and experiencing pain.

scholarly journals Non-medical cannabis use among Indigenous Canadians: A systematic review of prevalence and associated factors

2021 ◽  
Vol 90 ◽  
pp. 103081
Author(s):  
Erica Wennberg ◽  
Ariane Lasry ◽  
Sarah B. Windle ◽  
Kristian B. Filion ◽  
Brett D. Thombs ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Associated Factors ◽  
Cannabis Use ◽  
Medical Cannabis
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