1. The International Cannabis Policy Study – Framework for evaluating cannabis legalization

Cannabis policy is rapidly evolving. An increasing number of jurisdictions have legalized medical and non-medical cannabis, with a broad shift towards more liberalized policies. The impact of cannabis legalization will be determined not simply whether it is legal, but how it is regulated within a legal framework. The current presentation will provide an overview of the International Cannabis Policy Study (ICPS), which is designed to assess population-level changes associated with cannabis legalization.

The ICPS consists of population-based surveys conducted annually in four countries: Canada, the United States (US), New Zealand, and Australia. The surveys included detailed measures of patterns of use, product forms, indicators of problematic use and a range of policy-relevant outcomes.

Four annual waves of the ICPS study have been conducted in Canada and the US (2018-2021), with the first annual waves in Australia and New Zealand (2021). A total of 174,388 respondents aged 16- 65 have participated in ICPS surveys over the previous four years. The presentation will describe the ‘natural experiment’ design of the ICPS study with comparisons within- and between-countries over time. The presentation will also summarize some of the major differences between cannabis markets across the four countries, including changes over time.

To date, there is little evidence on the impact of specific cannabis policies and their influence on prevalence and patterns of cannabis use. There is a need for population-level surveys that assess detailed measures of cannabis use, as well as policy-relevant outcomes, including purchase sources, price, and product forms to inform cannabis policies.