International Journal of Health Policy and Management

International Journal of Health Policy and Management

The Devil Is in the Details! On Regulating Cannabis Use in Canada Based on Public Health Criteria; Comment on “Legalizing and Regulating Marijuana in Canada: Review of Potential Economic, Social, and Health Impacts”

Document Type : Commentary

Authors
Jürgen Rehm 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7
Jean-François Crépault 8
Benedikt Fischer 1, 3, 4, 9
1 Institute for Mental Health Policy Research, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), Toronto, ON, Canada
2 Addiction Policy, Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
3 Institute of Medical Science, University of Toronto, Faculty of Medicine, Toronto, ON, Canada
4 Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
5 Institute of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany
6 Center of Clinical Epidemiology and Longitudinal Studies (CELOS), Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany
7 Campbell Family Mental Health Research Institute, CAMH, Toronto, ON, Canada
8 Communications and Partnerships, CAMH, Toronto, ON, Canada
9 Centre for Applied Research in Mental Health and Addiction, Faculty of Health Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Vancouver, BC, Canada
10.15171/ijhpm.2016.114
Abstract
This commentary to the editorial of Hajizadeh argues that the economic, social and health consequences of legalizing cannabis in Canada will depend in large part on the exact stipulations (mainly from the federal government) and on the implementation, regulation and practice of the legalization act (on provincial and municipal levels). A strict regulatory framework is necessary to minimize the health burden attributable to cannabis use. This includes prominently control of production and sale of the legal cannabis including control of price and content with ban of marketing and advertisement. Regulation of medical marijuana should be part of such a framework as well
Keywords
Cannabis
Marijuana
Health Burden
Legalization
Regulation
Production
Sale
Medical Marijuana
Subjects
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International Journal of Health Policy and Management
Volume 6, Issue 3
2017
Pages 173-176

  • Received Date 01 July 2016
  • Revised Date 13 August 2016
  • Accepted Date 13 August 2016
  • First Published Date 01 March 2017
  • Published Date 01 March 2017