Lessons from Tobacco for Developing Marijuana Legalization Policy

Although marijuana is predominately illegal worldwide, its estimated use is increasing around the world.1, 2 In contrast, tobacco is legal, but its use is declining. The challenge facing policymakers is to develop appropriate regulatory frameworks that avoid population level harmsthat are associated with increased consumption of marijuana products. One approach would be to implement policies to create a social and legal environment in which people are no longer prosecuted for using marijuana but, like tobacco, its use is socially not acceptable.

Popular support for marijuana legalization has shifted in recent years to somewhere between decriminalization to full legalization.

This report provides information to inform development of marijuana legalization policies by providing the following information:

•High level review of the existing evidence on the effectiveness of tobacco control legislation and policies in relation to restrictions in marketing and advertising, product packaging and labelling, public education and product engineering (eg. product types and delivery methods, flavouring) in reducing risks to public health.

•An analysis of jurisdictions that are on the lower and higher end of the spectrum of tobacco control policies, and how these policies impact risk perceptions, social norms, tobacco use rates, and prevalence of tobacco-related disease in these jurisdictions.