Public Health Response to Legalization of Marijuana - the Colorado Example

Issues:

Colorado voters recently legalized the use of recreational marijuana among adults. Public health has since had to examine its role in relation to marijuana’s legalization.    Public health issues include the effect of legalization on prevalence of use, surveillance for acute health effects from contaminated marijuana products, safety of edible marijuana products, accidental poisonings of young children from edible products, use among pregnant and breastfeeding women, marijuana disposal issues, marijuana lab testing issues, and occupational health and safety issues among growers.

Description:

As one of the first two states in the nation dealing with the legalized marijuana, Colorado has developed a novel public health approach. This presentation describes the approach that the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment has taken, based on Colorado’s legal structure.

Lessons Learned

While at first glance, marijuana use fits in closely with other substance use prevention efforts (such as alcohol or tobacco), legalization has highlighted the importance of soliciting broad public health expertise from a variety of disciplines.  These include: epidemiologists with expertise in poisonings, injury, and acute disease surveillance or syndromic surveillance, environmental health specialists with expertise in food safety (for marijuana edibles) and waste disposal,  occupational health experts, maternall/child health expert, population-based survey experts, and laboratory experts to assist with issues in marijuana testing. 

Recommendations: 

As states legalize marijuana, they should consider the broad subject matter expertise required in implementing a comprehensive public approach to the issue.  A multi-disciplinary team, in dealing with legalized marijuana, is highly recommended.