PhD project: Public Health Research Multifaceted Datasets

Todd’s PhD thesis is a multi-source investigation of issues with the implementation and evolution of the recreational cannabis market in Colorado. As the world’s first fully commercialised seed to sale legal marijuana market for adults, Colorado is an important example to begin examining early consequences of specific policy choices.

Qualitative research draws on the Colorado Official State Web Portal and other government documents such as House and Senate Bills, Governor Executive Orders, Legislative Council records, industry notifications, and meeting minutes. Additionally the following were examined: Retail Marijuana Code, emerging literature from noted cannabis scholars, media stories, interviews with senior regulators, industry executives and front line public health officials, together with field observations from tours of cultivation facilities, dispensaries, trade shows, and policy symposiums.

The research brings the material together to highlight important lessons learned from the Colorado cannabis markets for regulators in other jurisdictions considering the legalisation of cannabis for adult-use. A key finding of the study relates to the Sunset review 2018 that recommends the unification of medical and recreational cannabis markets in Colorado in order to streamline regulatory efficiency and maximise tax revenues.

Findings associated with the research have been disseminated in multiple international journals and conferences.

PhD at National Drug Research Institute in Australia

Based: Sydney

Fieldwork: Denver, San Francisco

Overview of research: Check out this 2 minute video

Todd’s PhD thesis is a multi-source investigation of issues that arise from the implementation and evolution of the recreational cannabis market in Colorado. As the world’s first fully commercialised seed to sale legal marijuana market for adults, Colorado is an important example to begin examining early consequences of specific policy choices.

Data sources included the Colorado Official State Web Portal and other government documents such as House and Senate Bills, Governor Executive Orders, state-mandated impact and task force reports, Legislative Council records, industry notifications, and workgroup meeting minutes. Additionally, the following were examined: the Retail Marijuana Code (RMC); industry periodicals; emerging literature from noted cannabis scholars; media stories; interviews with senior regulators, industry executives and front-line public health officials; and field observations from tours of cultivation facilities, dispensaries, trade shows, and policy symposiums.

Cannabis Thought Leadership: Conference Papers and Presentations by Todd Subritzky

• Subritzky, T., Pettigrew, S., & Lenton, S. (2016). Testing times: issues with potency and pesticides in Colorado’s commercial recreational marijuana market – Paper presented at International Society for the Study of Drug Policy (ISSDP 2016) Satellite Conference in Auckland, May 11 -12, 2016
• Subritzky, T., Pettigrew, S., & Lenton, S. (2016). Smoke and mirrors: issues relating to data collection and impact assessment in Colorado’s recreational cannabis market – Paper presented at International Society for the Study of Drug Policy (ISSDP 2016) Conference in Sydney, May 16 -18, 2016
• Subritzky, T., Lenton, S., & Pettigrew, S. (2017). Developing regulations for pesticide usage on marijuana crops in Colorado – Paper presented at The 1st Annual Institute of Cannabis Research Conference at Colorado State University-Pueblo, Colorado, USA, April 28-30, 2017
• Subritzky, T. (2018) Cannabis and the spectrum of wellness. Presented at Hemposium Conference, Mardi Grass, Nimbin NSW May 4, 2018. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3TSeT1_lbnM
• Subritzky, T. (2018) The strengths and weaknesses of the Colorado cannabis legalisation scheme – presented at NDRI Annual Symposium in Melbourne, November 22, 2018 http://ndri.curtin.edu.au/news-events/ndri-events/2018-annual-symposium

Peer-reviewed Academic Publications in International Journals

• Subritzky, T., Lenton, S. and Pettigrew, S. (2019) Practical lessons learned from the first years of the regulated recreational cannabis market in Colorado. In Decorte, T., Lenton, S. and Wilkins, C. (eds.) The coming cannabis revolution? Regulatory models for (recreational) cannabis markets: experiences, scenarios and debates. Routledge, London.
• Subritzky, T. (2018). Beyond deficit and harm reduction: Incorporating the spectrum of wellness as an interpretive framework for cannabis consumption. International Journal of Drug Policy, 60, pp. 18-23. DOI: 10.1016/j.drugpo.2018.07.013 [RJ1439]
• Lenton, S. and Subritzky, T. (2017). On sentinel samples, sales data and potency. Commentary on Kilmer & Pacula: Greening the Black Market. Addiction, 112, (7), pp. 1137-1138. DOI: 10.1111/add.13756 [RJ1292]
• Subritzky, T., Pettigrew, S. and Lenton, S. (2017). Into the void: regulating pesticide use in Colorado’s commercial cannabis markets. International Journal of Drug Policy, 42, pp. 86-96. DOI: 10.1016/j.drugpo.2017.01.014 [RJ1252]
• Subritzky, T., Lenton, S. and Pettigrew, S. (2016). Legal cannabis industry adopting strategies of the tobacco industry. Drug and Alcohol Review, 35, (5), pp. 511-513. DOI: 10.1111/dar.12459 [RJ1240]
• Subritzky, T., Pettigrew, S. and Lenton, S. (2016). Issues in the implementation and evolution of the commercial recreational marijuana market in Colorado. International Journal of Drug Policy, 27, pp. 1-12. DOI: 10.1016/j.drugpo.2015.12.001 [RJ1125]