title: Position statement on cannabis.
abstract: There is an ongoing national debate around cannabis policy. This brief position statement by the Executive Committee of the Central Drug Authorityoutlines some of the factors that have contributed to this debate, delineates reduction strategies, summarises the harms and benefits ofmarijuana, and provides recommendations. These recommendations emphasise an integrated and evidence-based approach, the need forresources to implement harm reduction strategies against continued and chronic use of alcohol and cannabis, and the potential value of afocus on decriminalisation rather than the legalisation of cannabis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, Soouth Africa. dan.stein@uct.ac.za.
authors.forename: Dan Joseph
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Stein
mesh_terms: D002188:Cannabis; D003415:Crime / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D006077:Government Agencies; D006291:Health Policy; D006801:Humans; D008385:Marijuana Smoking / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D064086:Medical Marijuana; D013019:South Africa
chemical_list: D064086:Medical Marijuana