Pot & Public Health: Colorado’s Pilot Study

One of the few legitimate concerns people raise about legalizing marijuana is the impact it will have on public health. While we know that cannabis is not as dangerous as tobacco or alcohol, there are a lot of things we don’t know about cannabis; and it is worth the time and effort to understand as much as we can.

When it comes to cannabis legalization, the eyes of the nation are continuously focused on Colorado and waiting to see what happens there. Once again, Colorado has taken an even handed approach to marijuana and has taken steps to set up pilot programs to study the health effects of marijuana.

On Thursday, August 14, 2014, Tista Ghosh and Mike Van Dyke of the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) and Jill Bonczynski of Tri-County Health Department came together in an all-day meeting to discuss several different programs meant to study the potential public health effects of cannabis. While the meeting was not open to the public, the people over at Denver Westword were able to attend the all-day meeting electronically. The following is a rundown of the meeting:

  • Several area hospitals have been coming to the CDPHE expressing concern over the increased number of women that were reportedly using cannabis during pregnancy. It is not known if there has been an actual increase of cannabis use during pregnancy or just an increase of honesty since cannabis legalization.
  • Although causes of increased cannabis use during pregnancy cannot be determined, there is a program that will study the effects of such behavior. The program will take the responses to questions physicians ask during prenatal care and compare them to the state birth defect registry to see if there is a correlation.
  • On August 4, 2014, the Denver branch of the supplemental nutrition program Women, Infants, and Children began tracking statistics of marijuana use by pregnant and post-partum women.  The survey will be completely anonymous and is only available to literate women over the age of 18.
  • An unnamed hospital in an unnamed resort town will begin comparing ski and snowboarding accidents and injuries to marijuana use to see if there is a relationship between the two.

This meeting is emblematic of Colorado’s commitment to proactive cannabis policy. Colorado health officials have heard the concerns of the public and seem to have taken appropriate steps to address the issue.  It is unknown what results these studies will yield, but in the long run this is a good development for the cannabis industry.

Although support for cannabis has never been higher, it only takes one or two incredibly damaging stories to wash away all the goodwill generated over the last few years. Embracing cannabis studies and practicing self-regulation is the best way to preserve the gains made by the cannabis industry, as well as protect future investments, because it allows the industry to set the tone of the debate.

Source: Denver Westword

William Sumner is a freelance writer and marijuana journalist located in Panama City, FL. Passionate about writing, William is dedicated to journalistic integrity and providing quality insight on current events. You can follow him on Twitter @W_Sumner.

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