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History, regulation, and public policy

Section Editor: Cheryl Fitzer-Attas, ClinMed, USA
Covers historical, legal, regulatory, public policy, ethical, international, and cross-cultural aspects of cannabis cultivation, cannabis use, and cannabis-related disorders.


  1. Cannabis policies have changed drastically over the last few years with many states enacting medical cannabis laws, and some authorizing recreational use; all against federal laws. As a result, cannabis produc...

    Authors: Mona M. Geweda, Chandrani G. Majumdar, Malorie N. Moore, Mostafa A. Elhendawy, Mohamed M. Radwan, Suman Chandra and Mahmoud A. ElSohly
    Citation: Journal of Cannabis Research 2024 6:11
  2. Canada took a national approach to recreational cannabis that resulted in official legalization on October 17, 2018. In the United States (US), the approach has been more piecemeal, with individual states pass...

    Authors: Janet Music, Brian Sterling, Sylvain Charlebois and Christine Goedhart
    Citation: Journal of Cannabis Research 2024 6:1
  3. Changes in regulation for cannabis for nonmedical use (CNMU) are underway worldwide. Switzerland amended the law in 2021 allowing pilot trials evaluating regulative models for cannabis production and distribut...

    Authors: Constantin Strube, Renato Davide Comazzi, Dimitri Lƶwinger, Reto Auer, Franz Moggi and Philippe Pfeifer
    Citation: Journal of Cannabis Research 2023 5:40
  4. Throughout the past two decades of legal medical cannabis in Canada, individuals have experienced challenges related to accessing legal sources of cannabis for medical purposes. The objective of our study was ...

    Authors: N. Rielle Capler, Lynda G. Balneaves, Jane A. Buxton and Thomas Kerr
    Citation: Journal of Cannabis Research 2023 5:18
  5. The reintroduction of Cannabis sativa L. in the form of hemp (<ā€‰0.3% THC by dry weight) into the US agricultural sector has been complex and remains confounded by its association with cannabis (>ā€‰0.3% THC by dry ...

    Authors: Amanda Falkner, Jane Kolodinsky, Tyler Mark, William Snell, Rebecca Hill, Amelia Luke, Jonathan Shepherd and Hannah Lacasse
    Citation: Journal of Cannabis Research 2023 5:17
  6. In the UK, legislation and regulations governing medical cannabis and over the counter cannabidiol (CBD) wellness products have rapidly evolved since 2018. This study aimed to assess the public awareness of th...

    Authors: Simon Erridge, Ross Coomber and Mikael H Sodergren
    Citation: Journal of Cannabis Research 2022 4:56
  7. The purpose of this study is to examine how cannabis legalization and corresponding taxation would affect the supply-side of the cannabis market. Specifically, the study considers various scenarios in which Ok...

    Authors: Joohun Han and John N. Ngā€™ombe
    Citation: Journal of Cannabis Research 2022 4:40
  8. There is a growing literature on the potential medical uses of Cannabis sativa and cannabinoid compounds. Although these have only been approved by regulatory agencies for a few indications, there is a hype about...

    Authors: Arthur Cassa Macedo, AndrƩ Oliveira Vilela de Faria, Isabella Bizzi, Fabrƭcio A. Moreira, Alessandro Colasanti and Pietro Ghezzi
    Citation: Journal of Cannabis Research 2022 4:37
  9. As a result of the legalization of U.S. industrial hemp production in late 2018, products containing hemp-derived Ī”8-tetrahydrocannabinol (Ī”8-THC) are increasing in popularity. Little, however, is known regarding...

    Authors: Gregory T. Wurz, Edward Montoya and Michael W. DeGregorio
    Citation: Journal of Cannabis Research 2022 4:36
  10. Cannabis sativa has accompanied humankind since ancient times, permeating the most diverse aspects of its existence, among which the search for health promotion and well-being stands out. Nevertheless, during the...

    Authors: Maƭra Ribeiro de Souza, AmƩlia Teresinha Henriques and Renata Pereira Limberger
    Citation: Journal of Cannabis Research 2022 4:33
  11. The US guidelines recommend avoiding marijuana during breastfeeding given concerns about infantā€™s neurodevelopment. In this setting, some physicians and hospitals recommend against or prohibit breastfeeding wh...

    Authors: Marielle S. Gross, Margot Le Neveu, Kara A. Milliken and Mary Catherine Beach
    Citation: Journal of Cannabis Research 2022 4:20
  12. Cannabis social equity programs intend to redress inequities experienced by low income and Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) during cannabis prohibition in the United States. In Los Angeles County...

    Authors: Caislin L. Firth, Kristin M. Warren, Lilian Perez, Beau Kilmer, Regina A. Shih, Joan S. Tucker, Elizabeth J. Dā€™Amico and Eric R. Pedersen
    Citation: Journal of Cannabis Research 2022 4:18
  13. Over-consumption is a common adverse outcome from cannabis edibles. States such as Colorado require each serving of cannabis edible to carry a THC symbol. This study aimed to test whether packaging edibles in ...

    Authors: Samantha Goodman and David Hammond
    Citation: Journal of Cannabis Research 2022 4:17
  14. The current revision to Thailandā€™s Narcotics Act (B.E. 2563) permits Thai corporations to produce cannabis (ganja) for therapeutic purposes, as well as conduct beneficial research and development in science an...

    Authors: Sarana Rose Sommano, Tibet Tangpao, Tanachai Pankasemsuk, Voranate Ponpanumas, Yuthana Phimolsiripol, Pornchai Rachtanapun and Shashanka K. Prasad
    Citation: Journal of Cannabis Research 2022 4:10
  15. As the legalization of cannabis moves forward in many countries, it is important to highlight the potential harm that excessive use can cause on young consumers. Crafting effective policy interventions to redu...

    Authors: Salvador Espinosa, Charles Marks and Gustavo Fondevila
    Citation: Journal of Cannabis Research 2022 4:5
  16. The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) monitors, inspects, and enforces the promotion of products by companies that claim to mitigate, prevent, treat, diagnose, or cure COVID-19. The introduction...

    Authors: Allan Tran, Natasha Y. Sheikhan, Tania Sheikhan, Dominik A. Nowak and Theodore J. Witek Jr
    Citation: Journal of Cannabis Research 2021 3:49
  17. Medicinal cannabis has been legalised for use for a range of specified medical conditions in Australia since 2016. However, the nature of the government regulations and the subsequent complexity of prescribing...

    Authors: Monique Lewis and John Flood
    Citation: Journal of Cannabis Research 2021 3:48

    The Correction to this article has been published in Journal of Cannabis Research 2021 3:52

  18. In 2017, the Jamaican government banned the sale of cannabis-infused edibles after reports of over-intoxication in adults and children. There is a general lack of public awareness regarding the risk involved w...

    Authors: Carole M. Lindsay, Wendel D. Abel, Erica E. Jones-Edwards, Paul D. Brown, Khalia K. Bernard and Tainia T. Taylor
    Citation: Journal of Cannabis Research 2021 3:29
  19. US states have been adopting their own medical cannabis laws since 1996. There is substantial variability in the medical cannabis programs between states, and these differences have not been thoroughly investi...

    Authors: V. Kishan Mahabir, Christopher S. Smith, Christopher Vannabouathong, Jamil J. Merchant and Alisha L. Garibaldi
    Citation: Journal of Cannabis Research 2021 3:15
  20. Cannabidiol (CBD) is commonly used to manage symptoms in conditions and diseases for which there is limited clinical research for its application. How consumers arrive and decide to use CBD for medical treatme...

    Authors: Marco A. Zenone, Jeremy Snyder and Valorie A. Crooks
    Citation: Journal of Cannabis Research 2021 3:13
  21. Cannabis is one of humanityā€™s oldest crops with several uses, from food to clothing and medicine. It remains one of the most controversial crops whose production, possession, and usage are regulated differentl...

    Authors: Nana Osei Owusu, Benedict Arthur and Emmanuel Mensah Aboagye
    Citation: Journal of Cannabis Research 2021 3:9

    The Correction to this article has been published in Journal of Cannabis Research 2021 3:18

  22. Cannabis laboratory testing reliability is a scientific and policy challenge in US states with legal cannabis. Greater reported THC concentration yields higher prices, and media reports describe a well-known c...

    Authors: Michael J. Zoorob
    Citation: Journal of Cannabis Research 2021 3:6
  23. In 2018, the Farm Bill mandated the United States Department of Agriculture to develop regulations governing the cultivation, processing, and marketing of industrial hemp. Industrial hemp is defined as Cannabis s...

    Authors: Erin C. Berthold, Rui Yang, Abhisheak Sharma, Shyam H. Kamble, Siva R. Kanumuri, Tamara I. King, Raluca Popa, Joshua H. Freeman, Zachary T. Brym, Bonnie A. Avery and Christopher R. McCurdy
    Citation: Journal of Cannabis Research 2020 2:42
  24. Nowadays, medical cannabis still remains inaccesible for patients in the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). Even registered medicinal products based on herbal or synthetic cannabinoids, like Sa...

    Authors: Nataliia Aliekperova, Ššostyantyn Kosyachenko and Oleksandr Kaniura
    Citation: Journal of Cannabis Research 2020 2:33
  25. Given that 72% of internet users seek out health information using an internet search engine (Google being the most popular); we sought to investigate the public internet search interest in cannabis as a healt...

    Authors: Trevor Torgerson, Will Roberts, Drew Lester, Jam Khojasteh and Matt Vassar
    Citation: Journal of Cannabis Research 2020 2:31
  26. Under Ohio Medical Marijuana Control Program rules, Ohio physicians that recommend medical marijuana (MMJ) to patients must possess a Certificate to Recommend (CTR) from the State Medical Board. Although a pre...

    Authors: Frederic Stuart Leeds, Ryan K. Levinthal, Morgan T. Alexander and Timothy N. Crawford
    Citation: Journal of Cannabis Research 2020 2:11
  27. Currently, with the legalization of cannabis and the opening of recreational dispensaries in states across the country, the question of whether or not proximity to recreational cannabis dispensaries affects hi...

    Authors: Tim Peters and Carol Foust
    Citation: Journal of Cannabis Research 2019 1:2