Background
U.S. cannabis policy has been shaped by racism and produced racist outcomes. The legalization of cannabis for adult use represents an opportunity to end harmful policies and repair some of the damage caused by the War on Drugs. However, this opportunity may be slipping away. Large corporations with histories of exploitation are steering cannabis policy to maximize profits.
Objectives
Parabola Center for Law and Policy created videos to educate the public about these issues and promote cannabis policies that benefit regular people. We conducted an online survey with an embedded experimental design to determine whether the videos would resonate with U.S. adults and influence beliefs about cannabis policy.
Methods
In September 2023, we conducted an online survey of 404 U.S. adults. We showed half of the participants six videos featuring cannabis policy experts before asking them to answer survey questions. The other participants answered survey questions before seeing the videos.
Findings
Participants who saw the videos had greater agreement that cannabis legalization should not benefit the tobacco industry, the pharmaceutical industry, and alcohol companies (all p<0.05). They also had greater agreement that legalization should create space for small businesses, create a sharing community, and benefit people from communities that have been harmed by the Drug War (all p<0.05).
Implications
Public education could be a powerful tool to decolonize U.S. cannabis policy by raising awareness of corporate influence, promoting community-centered regulatory models, and building support for an equitable approach to federal legalization.
Jane Appleyard Allen is a Senior Analyst in the Center for Communication and Media Impact at RTI International. She has 25 years of experience evaluating state and national public education campaigns, conducting formative research for campaign message development, and conducting research to understand consumer perceptions of cannabis and tobacco products and policies. Ms. Allen is interested in unintended effects of public policy, research to reduce racial inequities in health-related outcomes, and research to advance equity in the context of cannabis policy.
Ms. Allen led the evaluation of the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment’s Retail Marijuana Education Program and is currently evaluating Colorado’s Forward Together campaign. Her media campaign experience also includes the FDA’s The Real Cost campaign, the national truth campaign, and the National Youth Anti-drug Media Campaign.
In collaboration with RTI’s Racial Justice and Equity Program and RTI’s Black Employee Resource Group, Ms. Allen facilitates trainings that prepare participants to understand and work effectively to dismantle anti-Black systemic racism. Ms. Allen has coauthored 48 peer-reviewed journal articles, is the first author of two book chapters, and has contributed to numerous other scientific publications.
Shaleen Title is an Indian-American attorney and drug policy activist who has been writing, passing, and implementing equitable cannabis laws for over 20 years. She is a founder of Parabola Center for Law and Policy and a distinguished practitioner in residence at The Ohio State University’s Drug Enforcement and Policy Center. Previously, she was a top cannabis regulator for the state of Massachusetts.