Availability and accessibility |
Control structure: The government should form a central commission with a monopoly over sales and control over production, packaging, distribution, retailing, promotion and revenue allocation. The primary goal should be public health promotion and protection (to reduce demand, minimize harms and maximize benefits). The commission should be at arm’s length from the government to resist interference with this goal, such as industry influence and the government’s desire to increase revenues from promoting sales, fees and taxation. | Few or none | Few or none | Few or none | Few or none | Most | NA |
Provision to consumers: Cannabis should be sold only at licensed or commission-operated retail outlets. Public health objectives should determine the locations and the appearance of the outlets. Health promotion messages should be displayed. Hours of operation should be limited. | Few or none | Some | Some | Some | Most | NA |
Price: The price should be set high enough to reduce demand, and low enough to undercut the illegal market. | Few or none | Few or none | Some | Few or none | Most | NA |
Purchase, consumption and use |
Purchase: There should be a minimum age for purchase. Purchases should involve completing a form. A limit should be placed on the amount of daily purchases. | Most | Most | Most | Most | Some | Most |
Locations for use: The public should not be exposed to cannabis smoke. Use should be restricted to licensed locations (or private homes). Cannabis lounges should be neutral, not promote cannabis use and include health promotion material. Alcohol and tobacco use should not be permitted. Locations, hours and amounts of a sale to an individual should be restricted. | Some | ND | NA | NA | NA | Most |
Cannabis and driving:† Cannabis-impaired driving should be an offence with a range of available legal sanctions. There should be active and visible enforcement along with prevention campaigns. Testing should be effect based (i.e., road-side impairment testing) confirmed with blood testing. Zero tolerance is not recommended because THC detection may occur long after effects have resolved. There should be lower thresholds for the combination of cannabis and alcohol because the effects are additive. | Some | Some | Some | Some | Most | Some |
Supply |
Production: The commission should be the only organization permitted to purchase cannabis from producers and sell to retailers. It should support small producers to prevent the growth of large, multinational corporations with lobby power to achieve their profit-driven goals. Individuals should be permitted to grow cannabis for personal use but not be allowed to sell privately. | Few or none | Few or none | Some | Few or none | Most | Most |
Product: The cannabis product should be regulated (constituents and emissions). The THC percentage should be clearly labelled, with pricing policies to favour products with low THC concentrations. Only bulk products should be sold (i.e., no pre-made cigarette-type products), with the exception of processed products for oral consumption to avoid the harms of inhalation. | Few or none | Some | Some | Some | Most | Few or none |
Demand drivers/mitigators |
Promotion and packaging: All branding and promotion (e.g., advertising, sponsorship and product placement§) should be banned. Partial bans have little effect. Labels should include information on health risks. | Most | ND | Few or none | Few or none | Most | Most |
School and public education campaigns:‡ The government should support evidence-based school and public education campaigns to temper demand. Large, mass-media campaigns should be avoided because they can stimulate interest and increase use. | NE | NE | NE | NE | NE | NE |
Dedicated revenue |
Dedicated revenue: The revenue should be used for health and social initiatives. | Few or none | Most | Most | Most | Most | NA |
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