Dianova organized an online seminar with experts in the field to debate the different aspects of cannabis regulation
Nowadays, the legal regulation of cannabis, either for medical or recreative use, has become an unescapable debate – Image CC
By Lucía Goberna – Under the umbrella of Science and Innovation Week 2020, the event entitled “Myths and legends around the international regulation of cannabis consumption” was organized by the Department of Social, Work and Differential Psychology of the Complutense University of Madrid together with Dianova, which relied on the support of the Knowledge Foundation of Madrid and the Faculty of Psychology at the Complutense University of Madrid. The event, which was considered to be informative, took place on the 12th November from 10:30 to 13:30.
At the event, Professor Antonio Jesús Molina Fernández of the Complutense University presented the “Study on the Regulation and Legalization of the Therapeutic and Recreational Uses of Cannabis and their Addiction, Social and Health-Related Risks“. This study was first commissioned by Dianova at the beginning of 2019, in order to rely on solid scientific evidence for work in their institutional stance regarding cannabis.
The study follows a qualitative methodology in which 18 international experts, who work in very different fields, have been interviewed and defend different points of view. A discussion group with people from Dianova was organized and the results of the meeting were validated by a panel of experts. The study received approval from the Research Ethics Commission of the Complutense University. Antonio Jesús Molina Fernández presented the study process, as well as the main conclusions.
Then followed an interesting round table, in which the following experts participated:
- Ana Afuera, ENCOD (European Coalition for Just and Effective Drug Policies) who contributed from a vision of political advocacy.
- Ana Adán, University of Barcelona, from the academic and research field.
- Josep Rovira, Asociación Bienestar y Desarollo (Association of Wellbeing and Development), who contributed from the view of damage reduction.
- Adriana Francisco Grau, Dianova Spain, who added the perspective of treatment to the round table.
The round table treated aspects of the debate such as legalization/regulation of cannabis, social and health aspects, and implications of the international debate, as well as future perspectives.
There were recurring themes to which the speakers returned to on multiple occasions, such as the necessity of having robust prevention and treatment programmes, a focus on vulnerable populations, aspects to bear in mind within the regulator framework or the difficulty of an international consensus.
The round table combined the experience and knowledge from diverse fields which need to be taken into consideration for the debates which are already taking place on the national and international levels.
The organization and participation of this informative event is one of Dianova’s acts of collaboration with the academic world. We are grateful to speakers at the round table for their participation, as well as the Complutense University of Madrid and collaborating organizations of Science and Innovation Week 2020 for their support.