Cannabis Industry Rhetoric to Defeat Public Health-Oriented Regulations

Washington State legislators have attempted to regulate high delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) cannabis to reduce cannabis-related harms with no success. A better understanding of the industry rhetoric can be used by public health advocates to develop counterarguments and disseminate alternative narratives that protect the public’s health. We analyzed the arguments used by cannabis industry actors opposing regulations to de-incentivize the availability and use of high-THC products in Washington State and  identified three main rhetorical strategies used by cannabis industry actors to oppose THC content regulation: a) threats to economic benefits, public health, and the will of the people; distract by introducing a tangential topic and c) discrediting the science that supported regulation of cannabis products with high THC concentration or its advocates.  

The project concluded that cannabis industry actors have leveraged several arguments used by industry actors of other health-compromising products to undermine initiatives to advance public health.  

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