Cannabis Policy as Harm Reduction: Polymorphic Models of Responsible Regulation

Abstract

Cannabis policy is evolving around the world. While cannabis legalization is perhaps inevitable, responsible regulation is not. Canada provides a unique case study. This paper explores five regulatory models that guide contemporary cannabis policy, organized around public safety, public health, medicinal and therapeutic models, commerce, and racial justice. First, we assess each by focusing on fundamental assumptions, operational goals, and practical outcomes. Next, we consider the impacts of each of these models by exploring significant categories of cannabis policy-based harm. Third, we attempt to reconcile tensions between commerce and control, liberty and safety, and justice and fairness. By re-aligning regulatory cannabis models, we focus on access, equity, and tolerance, re-conceiving public safety, and explicitly committing to consent as central to cannabis diversion programs. Finally, in place of singular governance models, we propose several intermediate polymorphic policy reforms to inform this re-alignment.