Cannabis Regulation and Public Health: Using the Experience of Alcohol Regulation to Maximize Public Health Outcomes in Ontario

The Government of Canada has signalled that it will legalize recreational cannabis on or before July 1, 2018. While there are numerous anticipated benefits of this change, including a reduction in the costs of enforcement and an increase in tax revenues, the consumption of cannabis is not risk-free. The many negative effects related to cannabis consumption include increased cancer risk, impairment of cognitive and psychomotor functioning, and a greater likelihood of manifesting mental health issues. A regulatory approach aimed at reducing these harms associated with use – and not use per se – is called a “public health” approach. In order to contribute to the design of a regulatory framework for cannabis in Ontario, this paper reviews and synthesizes the literature on the efficacy of specific regulatory tools in maximizing public health outcomes with respect to alcohol, including taxation and price controls, controlling the physical availability, and advertising and marketing restrictions.LL.M