Challenges achieving horizontal coherence across health and public security policies in formulating Uruguay's cannabis regulation.

Publisher: Oxford University Press Country of Publication: England NLM ID: 9008939 Publication Model: Print Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1460-2245 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 09574824 NLM ISO Abbreviation: Health Promot Int Subsets: MEDLINE

Original Publication: Eynsham, Oxford, U.K. : Oxford University Press, c1990-

Cannabis*; Uruguay ; Humans ; Public Policy ; Health Policy ; Politics ; Marijuana Use/legislation & jurisprudence ; Interviews as Topic

In 2013, Uruguay became the first country to regulate the legal production, distribution and sale of recreational cannabis. While key officials have framed Uruguay's landmark legislation as part of the government's strategy to regulate cannabis, tobacco and alcohol, there is limited empirical research exploring the political considerations that influenced its approach. Drawing on the concept of policy coherence-the process by which policymakers seek to minimize conflicts and maximize synergies across policy agendas-this study explores the extent to which Uruguay's cannabis regulation was influenced by the promotion of policy coherence within health and across other policy spheres. Government documents, 43 semi-structured interviews and field observations were thematically analysed. The analysis shows that the pursuit of policy coherence across health issues was relatively limited, and where there is an element of regulatory coherence, there also appears to be minimal coordination. Efforts to promote substantive policy coherence were shaped by a desire to legitimate cannabis use without creating an upstream driver or structural force that would promote excessive consumption. The findings also reveal that the outcome of Uruguay's cannabis regulation was more directly shaped by broader political considerations, including how to resolve tensions between public security and unhealthy commodity regulation goals. This study raises important questions around the extent to which Uruguay's cannabis regulation was shaped by the explicit goal of policy coherence, suggesting rather that comparisons with tobacco and alcohol regulation were strategically used to justify the introduction of a legally regulated cannabis market.
(© The Author(s) 2024. Published by Oxford University Press.)

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University of Edinburgh's School of Social and Political Science; MR/S037519/1 UK Prevention Research Partnership

Keywords: Uruguay; cannabis regulation; policy coherence; policy formulation; unhealthy commodity regulation

Date Created: 20241104 Date Completed: 20241104 Latest Revision: 20241106

20241106

PMC11533143

10.1093/heapro/daae136

39495008