The legalisation of cannabis in North America from a public health perspective. Part 2 - Regulation in practice: implementation challenges and effects

This double issue of Tendances, dedicated to the legalisation of cannabis from the point of view of its implications for public health, presents the results of the ASTRACAN survey which aimed to draw up an initial assessment of North American experiences on an empirical basis and from a comparative perspective.

The analysis is based on the review of the scientific literature, supplemented by a qualitative survey (based on interviews and direct observations) carried out in six North American jurisdictions: three in the United States (Washington State, Oregon, and California) and three in Canada (British Columbia, Ontario, and Quebec).

Following on from the first part of the analysis, which described the scope, structure, and regulatory arrangements implemented for cannabis, the second part here focuses on two aspects:

• Firstly, the conditions under which the reform was implemented, current regulatory practices, and the efforts made to promote public health objectives.
• Secondly, the initial effects of legalisation (including unintended consequences or even counter-productive effects) from the point of view of the players involved in regulation.

A comparative table of the data used in the analysis can be consulted online, along with a set of monographs and summary materials.