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1 1 (November 13, 2025)

handle is hein.amenin/aeiafik0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Key Points * The combination of increased use and coliateral health effects of recreational marijuana raises the questions of how governmsrin houl ecucate the public nd w'hethet it should discouragre or limit cannabis use. * A review of cannabis packaaging warnring abels reveals wirde v i across states, wvith many states requiring the labels to provide only minimal inforimatiorn about health risks. * n this rerulatory free-for-all, it would make sense for some federal entity to suggest standardized warning Labels ard graphics. The legalization of recreational marijuana sale an-d use has spread dramatically since it wVas first adopted by Col orado in 2012. As of 2025, 24 states and the District of Cumbia have legalized cannabis or passed enabling legislation to do so. The majority of the US popula- tion lives in these jurisictions. Owing in part to those changes, Americans' use of narijuana and cannabis- based products has increased dramatically. Survey research has found that seif-rpcrted u daily marialla use increased by S5 times between 1992 and 202z, becoming more common than daily alcohol use., At the same time, ongoing meical research con- tinues to reveal new health risks related to marijuana use, including increased risk of rsajor cardiova'scu- lar events.' The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warns that cannabis users are 'more likely to develop psychosis . and long-lasting men- tal disorders, including schizophrenia, especially users wh.o start using cannabis at an earlier age and use cannabis more frequently. Further, because of its effects on coordinations, memory, ai.d judgment, cannabis use can impair important skills required for safe 'driving 4 'The Jourmal or^ Stieds ont Alcoiol am1 Drugs found that recreational marijuana legalization has been associated with a 6. pereent increase in injury crash rates and a 2.3 percent increase in fatal crash rates.S The combination of increased use arid collateral health effects ofreereational marijuana raises the ques- tons of how governinent should educate the public and whether it should discourage or limit cannabis use as it does with tobacco, another legal but dangerous prod- uct. Unlike tobacco, however, msarijuana's unusual legal. standing means any attempts to discourage its use muse be undertaken not by the federal governient but by each. state that has legalized the drug. Although mari- juana is technically still illecal under federal law, the tederal response to states' legalizing marijuana iargelv has been to allow states to implement their own laws.' The absence of federal policy mcans there is no stan- dard nationwide package warning for cannabis prod- ucts as there is for tobacco, which incuies i cigarette health warnings, consistirg of textual warning state- ments accompanicd by color graphics, in the form of