From prohibition to regulation: A comparative analysis of the emergence and related outcomes of new legal cannabis policy models (Colorado, Washington State and Uruguay)

Abstract

An effective approach to drug regulation is a growing concern. Since 2012, 10 US States and Uruguay have taken the step to revoke prohibition and legalize the recreational cannabis market. Based on the findings from a study ('Cannalex') carried out in 2015-2017 in Colorado, Washington and Uruguay by the French Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (OFDT) and the Institute of Security and Justice (INHESJ), relying on a hundred of in-depth interviews analyzed in line with the existing official statistics and studies, this paper shows heterogeneous policy-making models and contexts for reform. It also examines the early outcomes of the cannabis policy change. A mixed picture is emerging from the regulatory regimes currently implemented. This paper discusses the reform processes and their early outcomes, with a specific focus on the less documented area: the political processes that led to legalizing cannabis, analyzed with qualitative data. It argues that the different outcomes reported across Colorado, Washington and Uruguay are framed by the regulatory options that were taken, depending on specific dynamics of reform. The discussion focuses on some hot topics raised by the effective regulations, stressing that the array of cannabis regulatory options is a public debate that has just begun.

Keywords: Cannabis; Legalization; Policy; Regulation.