A new report from a National Academy of Sciences Advisory Committee wants the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and National Institutes of Health (NIH) to take a more aggressive role on marijuana and proposed a new federal government strategy for marijuana as a growing number of states make its use lawful and the marijuana being sold is increasingly potent with rising levels of intoxicating THC. The Advisory Committee expressed concern that public health and safety are taking “a back seat” as states pass cannabis laws because “[f]inancial interests” are playing “a substantial role in influencing those policies.” The Advisory Committee recommends that the CDC and NIH: (1) develop and evaluate campaigns about the health impacts of cannabis, particularly for parents, young people, pregnant women, and seniors; (2) monitor cannabis cultivation, sales, use, and health impacts; and (3) create best practices for state regulation, including ways to limit youth access. The report also recommends that Congress: (1) remove restrictions on the Office of National Drug Control Policy that prevent it from studying the effects of cannabis legalization; and (2) close loopholes that currently permit intoxicating products derived from hemp to be widely sold, even in states where other cannabis products are illegal.
