New RAND paper considers what alcohol and tobacco regulations can teach us when it comes to marijuana legalization

From a RAND press release yesterday comes news of a very interesting looking article by Rosalie Liccardo Pacula, Beau Kilmer, and others.  Unfortunately, it also appears to be behind a paywall.  But for anyone with library or database access to the American Journal of Public Health, it should be well worth downloading and checking out.  From the press release:

As U.S. policymakers consider ways to ease prohibitions on marijuana, the public health approaches used to regulate alcohol and tobacco over the past century may provide valuable lessons, according to new RAND Corporation research.

 

Recent ballot initiatives that legalized marijuana in Colorado and Washington for recreational uses are unprecedented. The move raises important questions about how to best allow the production, sales and the use of marijuana while also working to reduce any related social ills.

 

A new study published online by the American Journal of Public Health outlines how regulations on alcohol and tobacco may provide guidance to policymakers concerned about the public health consequences of legalizing marijuana.