Chapter 8 Harm reduction policies for cannabis
نویسنده
چکیده
This chapter reviews the limited evidence on strategies for reducing the harms arising from cannabis use and from criminal penalties to control its use. It summarises evidence on the harms arising from cannabis use, namely, increased risks of: car crashes among users who drive while intoxicated; the development of cannabis dependence among regular users; psychosis and poorer adolescent psychosocial outcomes; and increased risks of respiratory disease from smoking. Strategies for reducing these risks to users are described, such as, roadside drug testing to deter cannabis-intoxicated driving, and education of users about patterns of use that increase risks of dependence, poor mental health and respiratory problems. The chapter also briefly discusses depenalisation and decriminalisation of cannabis use as strategies to reduce harms arising from cannabis prohibition. It concludes with suggestions for research priorities in how to reduce harms arising from cannabis use and the policies adopted to reduce such use.
منابع مشابه
Cannabis and harm reduction
Note from the Editor Although cannabis is the most widely consumed illicit drug in many western countries, there is a paucity of information about harm reduction strategies for this drug. In part this may be due to the polarized debate around cannabis which tends to characterize it as wholly evil, or wholly good. In this paper Wendy Swift, Jan Copeland and myself attempt to summarize the major ...
متن کاملMoral regulation and the presumption of guilt in Health Canada's medical cannabis policy and practice.
This paper is a sociological examination of policies and practices in Health Canada's Marihuana Medical Access Division (MMAD) that presume the illicit intentions and inherent "guilt" of medical cannabis users, hampering safe access to a medicine to which many are legally entitled, and raising doubts about this federal programme's overall effectiveness and constitutional legitimacy. Beginning w...
متن کاملHarm reduction - the cannabis
This article examines harm reduction from a novel perspective. Its central thesis is that harm reduction is not only a social concept, but also a biological one. More specifically, evolution does not make moral distinctions in the selection process, but utilizes a cannabis-based approach to harm reduction in order to promote survival of the fittest. Evidence will be provided from peerreviewed s...
متن کاملDutch Drug Policy in a European Context
The increased cooperation between European Union member states in many policy areas has made it increasingly difficult for individual countries to pursue national policies on issues like drugs. The drug policies of the Netherlands, which center squarely on harm reduction, were under severe attack in recent years. Yet a good look at the actual practices in many other countries leaves no doubt th...
متن کاملChapter 9 Harm reduction policies for tobacco
Tobacco smoking is the leading cause of preventable premature mortality and disability in European and other developed countries. This chapter first reviews strategies that (1) aim to reduce harm to non-smokers (public smoking bans and reduced ignition propensity cigarettes) and (2) aim to reduce harm to the smoker who is unable or unwilling to quit nicotine use, namely, regulating the harmfuln...
متن کامل