Wayne Hall is Director of the Office of Public Policy and Ethics at the Institute for Molecular Bioscience, University of Queensland, Australia. He has been an advisor to the World Health Organisation and is a current member of their Expert Advisory Panel on Drug Dependence and Alcohol Problems.
Rosalie Pacula is an Associate Economist with the RAND Corporation and a Research Fellow with the United States National Bureau of Economic Research. She has published extensively on drug administration and policy and is a leading advisor in her field.
List of figures and tables
Foreword Peter Reuter
Acknowledgements
1. Introduction
Section 1. Cannabis the Drug and How it is Used: 2. Cannabis the drug
3. Patterns of use
Section 2. The Health Effects of Cannabis: 4. The acute effects of cannabis
5. The cellular, immunological and reproductive effects of chronic cannabis use
6. The cardiovascular, respiratory and gastrointestinal effects of chronic cannabis use
Section 3. The Psychological Effects of Chronic Cannabis Use: 7. Cannabis dependence
8. The effects of cannabis use on cognitive functioning
9. Cannabis use and psychotic disorders
Section 4. Effects on Adolescent Development: 10. Is cannabis a gateway drug?
11. Adolescent psychosocial outcomes
Section 5. Harms and Benefits of Cannabis Use: 12. Comparing the health effects of cannabis with alcohol and tobacco
13. The benefits of cannabis use
Section 6. The Effectiveness and Costs of Cannabis Prohibition: 14. The impact of prohibition on cannabis use
15. The monetary cost of enforcing prohibition
16. Other costs of cannabis prohibition
Section 7. Policy Alternatives: 17. Variations on prohibition
18. Cannabis as a legal substance
19. Summing up
Appendices
References
Index.
