Citation

Johnson JK, Doonan SM. J. Adolesc. Health 2021; 69(6): 869-870.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2021, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.jadohealth.2021.08.018

PMID

34809855

Abstract

Cannabis ("marijuana") has a long history of legality and prohibition in the United States. However, it has been federally illegal since the 1970s Controlled Substances Act. The Controlled Substances Act currently categorizes cannabis as a schedule I substance, the most restrictive schedule, quantifying cannabis on par with heroin and indicating a high potential for abuse, no currently accepted medicinal use, and lack of safety for use under medical supervision.

Federal scheduling has created obstacles for research, constraining what we currently understand about cannabis. Despite federal illegality, states and local jurisdictions have enacted three broad categories of cannabis policies: (1) decriminalization, replacing criminal sanctions with civil fines; (2) medicinal cannabis legalization (MCL) and regulation for medicinal use; and (3) adult-use ("recreational") cannabis legalization (AUCL) and regulation for nonmedical use for adults 21 years of age or older. Legalization as a state-level phenomenon has resulted in a heterogeneous patchwork of policies and provisions across states (i.e., allowance for home cultivation, dispensaries, purchasing limits,and so on), further complicating research on outcomes.

One potential consequence of cannabis legalization is an increase in acute or long-term health problems, particularly among vulnerable populations such as adolescents and persons with behavioral health disorders

Language: en