A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW OF MEDICAL MARIJUANA POLICIES AROUND THE WORLD
by Megumi Kurosu
Category: Social Science
Abstract – With various nations across the globe legalizing medical marijuana, countries that are yet to do so, such as Japan, may be able to glean insight from the policies implemented by other countries. This systematic review identifies the ways in which Thailand, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, the United States of America, and Canada have designed policies to legalize medical marijuana. Through electronic database searches with PubMed, we screened 79 results, and included 7 in this systematic review. Within the countries analyzed, we found that the regulations of cannabis have been influenced by each country’s historical background and views of cannabis usage. The specific medical use cases of cannabis greatly varied between countries and access to such treatments remains an issue despite legalization. As Japan moves to relax regulations of medical marijuana, whether the country can find a balance between reaping the significant benefits of new therapies while maintaining the prohibition of recreational marijuana remains an open question.