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California Society of Addiction Medicine
“ The Voice for Treatment”
YOUTH&FIRST
Reconstructing&Drug&Policy,&Regulating&Marijuana,&and&
Increasing&Access&to&Treatment&in&California
A Report to the California Society of Addiction Medicine
Timmen Cermak, M.D., President, CSAM
Peter Banys, M.D., M.Sc., Past President, CSAM
David Pating, M.D., Past President, CSAM
Table of Contents
Executive Summary
1.
2.
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4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Constructive Regulation Framework — Youth First
The War on Drugs Has Failed
Treatment Works
International Experience and Decriminalization of Drug Possession
Marijuana Use in California Youth
Rationale for Strict Regulation
Medical Ethics & Addiction
Outcome — Measuring Policy Impact
www.csam-asam.org
[ Preliminary Review Copy for Distribution at CSAM State of the Art Conference, Long Beach, CA - October 14, 2011]
[ Preliminary Review Copy for Distribution at CSAM State of the Art Conference, Long Beach, CA - October 14, 2011]
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The California Society of Addiction Medicine (CSAM) Youth First Initiative is designed to reduce the harm to young Californians from
marijuana use, from ineffective and punitive regulations, and to address the serious treatment needs of those adolescents who
become harmfully involved with marijuana. Our position is largely consistent with principles articulated in the Report of the Global
Commission on Drug Policy in 20111.
Adolescents in California have easy access to purchasing and using marijuana. California’s current medical marijuana laws have
not had significant impact on access, and have made physicians de facto gatekeepers for access to both medical and recreational
cannabis. CSAM therefore recommends that the best course at this point is to replace the current system of medical marijuana
dispensaries and physician recommendations with a more strictly regulated system in which physicians are no longer gatekeepers
for access, and fees and taxes from...