If legalizing pot, consider health, not profits, analysis says
The policy analysis by researchers at UC San Francisco is intended as a roadmap to help prevent a legalized marijuana industry from becoming a new version of the tobacco or alcohol industries, replete with aggressive marketing and political strategies to protect their economic interests. Policymakers Could Learn from Alcohol, Tobacco The paper draws upon historical accounts from tobacco and alcohol control to conclude that policymakers could learn from those regulatory lessons to shape marijuana laws that would minimize consumption and protect the public. In such a process, marijuana would be treated like tobacco, not alcohol, and would be subject to a robust, demand reduction program, using evidence-based strategies from tobacco control. "Current state marijuana laws and pending legalization initiatives are modeled on U.S. alcohol policies, which prioritize commercialization and tax revenue generation at the expense of public health," said lead author and UCSF polic...