Minimizing Cannabis' Harms to Public Health

More than half of US states have legalized cannabis for recreational or medical use. Regulations on cultivation, production, and marketing vary from state to state, and most of these policies were developed without a robust public health strategy. Because it is not federally legal, Washington has provided only limited guidance to states on how to control the variety of cannabis products on the market. What’s more, the dazzling arrays of gummies, vapes, and chocolates are available with much higher concentrations of THC (the psychoactive component of cannabis) than have been previously available.

A recent National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine report, Cannabis Policy Impacts Public Health and Health Equity, examines the connections between public health and marijuana legalization. 

On this episode, host Sara Frueh talks to Yasmin Hurd, vice-chair of the report committee, Ward-Coleman Chair of Translational Neuroscience, and director of the Addiction Institute at  Mount Sinai. They discuss the research on the complex landscape of modern cannabis products, what’s known about their public health impacts, and strategies policymakers could use to minimize harms. 

Resources

Read the National Academies’ report, Cannabis Policy Impacts Public Health and Health Equity.

Visit the Hurd Lab and Addiction Institute websites to learn more about Yasmin Hurd’s work on addiction.