2019 North American Cannabis Summit
TRDRP is providing support for this conference and we encourage our colleagues to attend and participate. Through these collaborative efforts, TRDRP aims to ensure that cannabis public policies and practices are informed by rigorous research into its health consequences and therapeutic benefits.
More than half of U.S. states, along with the governments of Canada and Mexico, now allow medical use of marijuana, and public support for legalizing cannabis is growing in all three countries. The 2019 North American Cannabis Summit provides an objective forum for policymakers and other stakeholders grappling with rapidly evolving cannabis use laws to join in rational, science-based conversations and information-sharing. The summit is an expansion of the 2017 National Cannabis Summit, which focused solely on the United States. It will be held January 28-30, 2019, at the Westin Bonaventure in Los Angeles, California.
“The 2019 summit will be a neutral space where we can address public health, science, and health equity in this time of expanding cannabis decriminalization, medical use, and legalization of recreational use,” notes Neal Shifman, president and CEO for Advocates for Human Potential, Inc. (AHP), one of the organizations hosting the conference. “The 2017 National Cannabis Summit in Colorado initiated cross-state discussion of policy, regulatory, and governance issues. Our upcoming summit will continue and broaden that conversation to encompass the experiences of not only U.S. state and local governments, but those of Canada and Mexico as well.”
TRDRP has partnered with Advocates for Human Potential ; the California Department of Public Health; the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Integrated Substance Abuse Programs; and the Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction to plan the 2019 North American Cannabis Summit.
As the first state in the union to legalize the medical use of marijuana, California has long been at the forefront of this policy change. This is reflected in TRDRP’s increasing support of cannabis research, particularly as it relates to tobacco use and tobacco-related disease. Phillip Gardiner, UC Smoke & Tobacco Free Fellowships Program Officer at TRDRP, comments, “For years, our research and education efforts have facilitated collaboration on tobacco control within California. Now, we are excited to explore the added dimension of cannabis use with our counterparts across North America. This is a dynamic process and, as a state, we are thrilled to host the 2019 North American Cannabis Summit.”
