Csam

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.

3.

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...