Allen Jane Appleyard, Lee Youn Ok, Woodlea Robyn, Malo Vincenzo F, Zitney Lauren V
RTI International, Research Triangle Park, NC.
Cannabis. 2023 Jul 5;6(2):76-88. doi: 10.26828/cannabis/2023/000146. eCollection 2023.
States that are legalizing cannabis for adult use are increasingly focused on equity, with the goal of repairing some of the harm caused by the War on Drugs. This study explains and describes the emphasis states are placing on equity and assesses whether public education can be used to increase public support for equity-focused cannabis policies.
We conducted an online survey of 893 New Jersey adults in August and September of 2021, just as state's Cannabis Regulatory Commission was publishing the first set of regulations for the legal sale and use of cannabis for adults age 21 and older. The study included an experimental design, in which half of respondents viewed an educational message about equity-focused cannabis policies before answering survey questions, and the other half did not.
Few participants (24.9%) were familiar with the concept of equity in cannabis policy, and a substantial proportion-from about 20% to 35%-provided a "neutral" or "don't know" response when asked about support for specific policies. Exposure to an educational message was associated with greater perceived importance of equity in cannabis policy (p < 0.05) and greater support for equity-focused policies. Specifically, participants who saw an educational message had greater agreement that New Jersey should provide priority licensing ( < 0.01) and grants ( < 0.001) to people who have been arrested for cannabis, and who now want to participate in the legal cannabis industry.
Cannabis regulators, public health professionals, and people working to advance racial justice may be able to advance state equity goals and remedy some of the harm from the War on Drugs by expanding public education campaigns to include equity messages.
将大麻合法化以供成年人使用的各州越来越关注公平性，目标是修复毒品战争造成的一些伤害。本研究解释并描述了各州对公平性的重视程度，并评估公共教育是否可用于增加公众对以公平性为重点的大麻政策的支持。
2021年8月和9月，我们对893名新泽西州成年人进行了在线调查，当时该州大麻监管委员会正在发布第一套关于21岁及以上成年人合法销售和使用大麻的法规。该研究采用了实验设计，其中一半的受访者在回答调查问题前观看了一条关于以公平性为重点的大麻政策的教育信息，另一半则没有。
很少有参与者（24.9%）熟悉大麻政策中的公平性概念，当被问及对具体政策的支持时，相当一部分人（约20%至35%）给出了“中立”或“不知道”的回答。接触教育信息与对大麻政策中公平性的更高认知重要性（p < 0.05）以及对以公平性为重点的政策的更大支持相关。具体而言，观看了教育信息的参与者更认同新泽西州应该为因大麻被捕且现在希望参与合法大麻行业的人提供优先许可（< 0.01）和补助金（< 0.001）。
大麻监管者、公共卫生专业人员以及致力于推进种族正义的人士或许能够通过扩大公共教育活动以纳入公平性信息来推进州公平性目标，并弥补毒品战争造成的一些伤害。
