Improving Public Health Through Better Cannabis Policy in Burlington
Evidence shows that where people live plays a key role in their health. Substance use prevention is a proactive approach that increases the protective factors that can support a healthy lifestyle and reduces the risk factors to the lifestyle, particularly those that contribute to young people using substances early and often.
As adults, we have a responsibility to do everything we can to make sure young people in this community are able to grow up healthy, with bright futures. One of the things that stands in the way of that is if they start using alcohol, tobacco, or other drugs while their brains are still developing. For example, kids who use cannabis have lower academic performance, higher rates of mental and physical health problems, and have higher rates of truancy and dropout. Together, we can prevent these things from happening. It is our job to make sure the community policies and programs prevent their use and help them thrive.
Our staff have been meeting with local partners for a while now on a project to identify local risk factors and develop a strategy to help Burlington move towards policy improvements that can better support prevention. Many of the proven solutions we’ve been looking at are not specific to cannabis, but can be applied to all legal and/or illegal substances, however, today we want to focus in on cannabis specifically.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) tasked the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to review cannabis availability in the United States, and look at how it is being regulated and what we can learn from what is and is not working. The full report is available here: Public Health Consequences of Changes in the Cannabis Landscape | National Academies but below we’ve shared some highlights, and it turns out they align with what our group of partners and the community have identified for solutions to our local Burlington challenges with retail cannabis!
Reduce Community Risk Factors
Limit youth exposure to products and advertising
Limit cannabis outlet density and location, especially near schools and youth centers
Restrictions and enforcement of cannabis impaired driving
Increased taxes/price
Limits on and enforcement of using in public
Increase Community Protective Factors
Protective factors are positive influences that can improve the lives of individuals and make it easier for people to make healthy choices.
Include language in the Burlington Comprehensive Plan that identifies long-term commitments to health and community design that supports public health.
Include intentional public health voices in policy decision making
Ensure there are robust opportunities for prosocial activity that are not centered around cannabis or other substance use.
Provide public education on the health risks associated with cannabis use, especially for youth
Ensure all public spaces are smoke-free
We’d love to hear from you! If you have a story or perspective about the impact of substance misuse and prevention in Burlington share it with us here:Community Feedback Form. If you are interested in learning more about or getting involved in our local policy efforts reach out to bianka@burlingtonpartnership.org. We are always interested in getting more people involved.
