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3 Cannabis: Prevalence of Use, Regulation, and Current Policy Landscape
Pages 61-84

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From page 61...
... and Monitoring the Future, have provided nationally representative data on self-reported use of cannabis. The NSDUH (called the National Household Survey on Drug Abuse until 2002)
From page 62...
... Hypothesized causes include declining potency-adjusted prices on the illicit market; the proliferation of medical cannabis laws, especially those that allow for sale at brick-and-mortar dispensaries; and changing public perceptions about the harms of cannabis use (Sevigny et al., 2014)
From page 63...
... of high school seniors reported past-month use in 2015 TABLE 3-1  Past-Month Use Rates by Demographic Past-Month Use Rate (%) Ethnicity White, Non-Hispanic 8.4 African American, Non-Hispanic 10.7 Hispanic 7.2 Asian Non-Hispanic 3.0 Gender Male 10.6 Female 6.2 Education Less Than High School 8.2 High School Graduate 9.1 Some College 10.5 College Grad 5.9 Family Incomea Less than $10k 13.6 $20k–$29.9k 9.7 $50k–$74.9k 7.8 $75k + 6.6 Agea 12–17 7.1 18–25 20.1 26–34 13.0 35–49 7.1 50+ 3.9 a Calculated with the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's (SAMHSA's)
From page 64...
... The NSDUH survey asks past-month cannabis users how many days in the past 30 they have used "marijuana or hashish," allowing researchers to measure the volume of use by aggregating reported use-days or by tracking the number of users who report use on more than 20 days in the past 30, termed heavy or "daily/near-daily" users. Today, 22.2 million Americans 12 years of age and older report current cannabis use (defined as "users in the past 30 days")
From page 65...
... Today, cannabis is regulated by local, state, federal, and international law. State laws often mirror federal law, enshrined in the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of 1970, which includes the Controlled Substances Act (CSA)
From page 66...
... Tangentially, federal banking and commercial laws impede the development of commercial cannabis businesses. Though 4 As a noteworthy caveat, within the United States there is evidence of racial, social, and economic status–based disparities in the enforcement and issued penalties related to cannabis sale and use (Austin and Ressler, 2016)
From page 67...
... . Medical Cannabis Laws The next major shift in state cannabis policy in the United States was the enactment of medical cannabis laws.
From page 68...
... The law generally provides an affirmative defense for individuals using cannabis for medical purposes. Reforms at the state level continued in the waning years of the 20th century, with a handful of states passing laws to allow doctors to prescribe medical cannabis or allow for a legal defense for use of medical cannabis.
From page 69...
... Table 3-2 describes a few of the regula 7 Oregon temporarily allowed sales of recreational cannabis through existing medical dispensaries beginning in October 2015, though licensed recreational stores are not expected to open until late 2016. 8 Alaska is expected to allow recreational cannabis sales in licensed stores by late 2016.
From page 70...
... In November 2016, California, Maine, Massachusetts, and Nevada voted to legalize adult measures related to recreational cannabis use TABLE 3-2  Regulatory Differences Across Four States and the District of Columbia That Have Legalized Recreational Cannabis Alaska Colorado Legal Process Voter initiative, state Voter initiative, amendment statute to state constitution When Passed November 2014 November 2012 When Implemented February 2015: Personal December 2012: Personal possession, consumption, possession, consumption, cultivation cultivation Late 2016 (expected) : January 2014: Retail sales Retail sales Regulatory Authority Marijuana Control Board Marijuana Enforcement (Alcoholic Beverage Division (Department of Control Board)
From page 71...
... To aid in drafting rules fol Oregon Washington District of Columbia Voter initiative, state Voter initiative, state Voter initiative statute statute November 2014 November 2012 November 2014 July 2015: Personal December 2012: Personal February 2015: Personal possession, consumption, possession, consumption possession, consumption, cultivation July 2014: Retail sales cultivation October 1, 2015: Retail sales via medical dispensaries Late-2016 (expected) : retail sales through licensed retailers Oregon Liquor Control Liquor and Cannabis Not applicable Commission Board (formerly the Liquor Control Board)
From page 72...
... . When the voters of these states passed initiatives to legalize, regulate, and tax recreational cannabis, they simultaneously repealed the penal provisions and sanctions prohibiting and criminalizing unauthorized cultivation, trafficking, and possession of cannabis.
From page 73...
... 1999: Patient registry, 1999: Possession 2011: Patient registry possession, home 2012: Home cultivation, cultivation no patient registry POLICY LANDSCAPE Most researchers recognize that a growing general public acceptance of the drug for medical and recreational purposes has been encouraging the changes at the state level. It remains to be seen if cannabis will be legalized at the national level or if such public opinion will continue.
From page 74...
... A patient may access medical cannabis when his or her physician deems it necessary, and in some jurisdictions this amounts to little more than de facto legalization of recreational use. One study that surveyed more than 4,000 individuals seeking access to medical cannabis in California concluded that the typical patient was a white male in his early 30s who started using cannabis in his teens with fewer reported disabilities than the national average (O'Connell and Bou-Matar, 2007)
From page 75...
... In 2014 Colorado passed legislation to promote research into cannabis's medical benefits, creating the Medical Marijuana Scientific Advisory Council and appropriating $9 million in research grants. The advisory council approves research grants and evaluates research.
From page 76...
... The Obama administration has issued a series of federal guidelines for 9 See the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment's Medical Marijuana Scientific Advisory Council: https://www.colorado.gov/pacific/cdphe/approved-medicalmarijuana-research-grants (accessed January 6, 2017)
From page 77...
... The current policy guidelines outline eight enforcement criteria whereby the federal government may intervene and prosecute an individual or group for violating the Controlled Substances Act (Cole, 2013)
From page 78...
... Some would remove cannabis from the Controlled Substances Act and treat the drug like alcohol. Others would end the civil asset forfeiture of real property of businesses that comply with state medical cannabis laws or authorize the U.S.
From page 79...
... There appears to be greater agreement that cannabis should be available as a medicine to those with certain qualifying conditions, but it is harder to find similar political agreement on recreational cannabis. It is unclear whether the wording of the Gallup Poll's public opinion question paints an accurate picture of the current and ongoing sentiment with respect to states that are legalizing recreational cannabis.
From page 80...
... samhsa.gov/data/sites/default/files/NSDUH-DetTabs-2015/NSDUH-DetTabs-2015/ NSDUH-DetTabs-2015.pdf (accessed December 27, 2016)
From page 81...
... 2016. State medical marijuana laws.
From page 82...
... 2014. The effects of medical marijuana laws on potency.
From page 83...
... Part II Therapeutic Effects


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