From reefer madness to regulation: Analyzing Canada’s strategies to evaluate the public health impacts of recreational cannabis legalization

On October 17, 2018, cannabis became legal to possess and use for recreational purposes in Canada. Canada’s approach to cannabis regulation was initially constructed as a deviancy issue, and is now being constructed as an issue central to public health. However, there is currently no consensus as to what specifically a public health approach to cannabis legalization entails. Literature from relevant jurisdictions with legal recreational cannabis has outlined some important public health metrics to consider with respect to cannabis legalization. The current study explores five of these public health metrics regarding cannabis legalization in Canada, in order to determine how well equipped Canada is to evaluate the public health impacts of cannabis legalization, and the current research strategies in place to evaluate this unprecedented policy change. Analyzing these strategies is important in order to determine whether recreational cannabis legalization in Canada can indeed be considered a public health success.