Marijuana policy update. One year later, after SALIS 2015 (2016)

The 2016 SALIS/AMHL conference featured three presentations offering different but complementary perspectives on issues around drug policy reform relating to the non-medical use of marijuana. This paper provides a summary of the key messages of these presentations under one umbrella with the purpose of tracking the changing landscape in marijuana policy since the 2015 SALIS Conference one year earlier. Dr. Julie Netherland from the Drug Policy Alliance presented a brief history and update of the legal status of marijuana and insights into the harm that criminalization has inflicted on both individuals and the state. She also presented recommendations for reform as well as issues to flag in the process. Being in Colorado, one of the first U.S. states to legalize adult recreational non-medical marijuana use, conference attendees were fortunate to learn from Elyse Contreras and Ali Maffey from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment about the control of production, distribution and use in Colorado as well as the strategies used to ensure safe use and the dissemination of research based health messages to the public. Finally, Isabelle Michot, OFDT, presented on the complex situation in the European Union, where the public debate is being influenced by the reform of drug laws elsewhere, conventions are being challenged, drug use and attitudes are diverse, and changes around use and possession of marijuana have been made in some countries.