Plus new research examining youth experiences with cannabis-related discipline in schools
The Parabola Center for Law and Policy, which has significant ties to the Bay State, released its newest report: “From Legal Reform to Market Formation: Justice, Participation, and Transition in Emerging Cannabis Markets.” Written by Parabola’s Damian Fagon and Shanel Lindsay, it was produced in partnership with the Open Society Foundation’s Advancing Global Drug Policy Reform Programme.
According to Parabola, “The report draws on three years of convenings in Salem, Prague, and Rio de Janeiro. Policymakers, regulators, civil society leaders, patient associations, researchers, and traditional and small-scale producers from the Global South and Global North examined the practical consequences of cannabis reform.” You can read that study here.
Also, “Dr. Faith English, postdoctoral fellow at Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health and public health director at Parabola Center for Law and Policy released the study, ‘Just take it away from them and talk to them about it,’ exploring youth perspectives on and experiences with cannabis-related school discipline.” “The study is one of the first to explore the relationship between adult-use cannabis legalization in Massachusetts and implications for adolescents in schools – and is the first to center youth voices on this topic.”
The following is from Parabola:
There has been a significant focus on preventing access to cannabis among youth, but little attention has been paid to other potential unintended consequences. This study critically examines the relationship between adult-use cannabis policies and the “school-to-prison-pipeline” in which zero tolerance policies are implemented in schools that push students, especially from marginalized communities, into the criminal justice system.
The study, published in the International Journal of Drug Policy, included 18 in-depth interviews with young people about their experiences with suspension and expulsion in schools for cannabis-related offenses. English and colleagues found that surveillance of students is extensive, that disciplinary responses are harmful, and that young people support alternatives to punitive responses.
These findings build on prior research published by English and colleagues which examined the relationship between cannabis policy changes and cannabis-related disciplinary incidents in MA. They found that rates of suspension and expulsion increased after decriminalization in 2008, however they decreased after both medical legalization in 2012 and adult-use in 2016. Findings from the current study provide important context to her quantitative research by centering the voices of young people and shedding light on what young people are experiencing in schools.
“There was universal agreement among participants that cannabis does not belong in schools, but instead of being suspended from extracurricular activities or being suspended or expelled from schools – they advocated for alternatives to abstinence-only messaging and called for more mental health and substance use resources for kids who need it,” Dr. Faith English said in a statement. “We hope these findings will encourage the adoption and expansion of alternatives to exclusionary discipline for cannabis – particularly in the context of a state with adult-use legalization.”
