Report: Americans don’t want cannabis industry rules written by Big Pharma, Tobacco, Alcohol

Most Americans don’t trust executives from pharmaceutical, tobacco, or alcohol companies to come up with good guardrails for the marijuana industry, according to survey from Parabola Center for Law and Policy. Instead, respondents said they’d prefer to have individuals with “lived experience,” cannabis consumers, and social equity advocates in charge of setting up the industry.

The survey included responses from 404 adults in the U.S. and was conducted in September 2023 in collaboration with RTI International, an independent nonprofit research institute.

“Before federal legalization occurs, it is important to preemptively examine who will benefit from marijuana legalization and what policies will need to be put in place to ensure equitable access to marijuana and equitable distribution of profits from the marijuana industry,” the survey summary asserts.

“Historically, policies championed by large businesses, including the tobacco, alcohol, and pharmaceutical industries, have led to large profits for those industries, pushed out small business owners, and negatively impacted vulnerable communities. These industries, along with others with financial interests, are trying to exert influence on upcoming policy changes,” the report states.

Americans don’t want the same thing to happen to the cannabis industry, with just 13% of survey respondents saying they trust alcohol companies to suggest proper marijuana regulations. The tobacco industry scored slightly higher at 18%, and the pharmaceutical companies won with just 24%. However, pharmaceutical firms still ranked higher than the federal government, which got only 22%.

Instead, 67% of survey respondents said they’d trust “people with lived experience” to come up with good cannabis business rules, 56% said they’d trust “people who use marijuana,” and 55% said they’d trust social equity advocates.

In addition, the study found that about two-thirds of respondents prioritized social equity, ending marijuana arrests, and ensuring consumer access to cannabis among their top policy goals aside from legalization.

“Given their shameful history of putting profits above all else, Americans are right not to trust tobacco, alcohol, or pharmaceutical companies to shape marijuana policy. Policymakers should be wary of taking cannabis advice from their front groups,” Shaleen Title, founder of the Parabola Center, said in a statement. “Americans believe that people with firsthand insight about marijuana should be driving reform and that it should benefit patients, workers, and impacted communities most.”