Three Eras of Cannabis Research

Abstract

Abstract This chapter presents three distinct eras of cannabis research. While early research that established the relative harmlessness of cannabis did little to shape national and international policy, by the second era, the War on Drugs and international conventions ensured cannabis research focused on risks and made claims that have proven difficult to validate. In addition, studying illicit substances means accepting too many confounders, such as conflating the psychopharmacological danger for people who use cannabis with the risks associated with engaging with illegal markets. Finally, changing the legal status of cannabis has opened the door to more nuanced examinations of stigma and public safety, coercion and public health, the value of medical cannabis, and the complications of consumer cannabis and racial justice. To avoid the problems of past research, we present cannabis research since 2018 and explicitly focus on research from jurisdictions where cannabis is legal.