The Need for Federal Regulation of Marijuana Marketing
Opinion VIEWPOINT The Need for Federal Regulation of Marijuana Marketing John W. Ayers, PhD, A national for-profit marijuana industry is expanding The company’s blog Ember: A Journal of Cannabis and MA substantially in the United States. Thirty-three states Culture has an entire section dedicated to health, includ- Division of Infectious have legalized medical marijuana, 10 of which (where ing a claim that marijuana “can reduce anxiety,pain, and Diseases and Global 1 in 4 individuals reside) have also legalized recre- so much more,”3 a physician’s recommended list of mari- Public Health, 4 Department of ational marijuana. Sales of marijuana are projected to juana products for menstrual cramps, and promotion Medicine, University of increase from $8.5 billion to $75 billion by 2030, rival- of marijuana as a safe, natural, and nonaddictive alter- California San Diego, ing current tobacco sales ($125 billion).1 The initial native to prescription medications, even implying that La Jolla. marijuana marketplace was limited to a few states, but marijuana can treat opioid addiction, an opinion with emerging brands have developed sophisticated which experts disagree.5 The first national radio– Theodore Caputi, MPH national marketing campaigns that could potentially podcast advertisements in 2018 did not mention mari- Division of Infectious have an effect across state lines. This marketplace juana, but advertised unnamed wellness treatments. Diseases and Global expansion, along with questionable marketing prac- A planned collaboration with Gwyneth Paltrow’s Goop, Public Health, 6 Department of tices, introduces a need for federal action. which was recently fined for misleading health claims, Medicine, University of has been announced.
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