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.