Should Cannabis Have Standard Units Like Alcohol? What Experts Think

**Understanding Safe Cannabis Use: A Call for Standardized Units** Cannabis use has become increasingly common, but with varying levels of risk associated with its consumption.

**Understanding Safe Cannabis Use: A Call for Standardized Units**

Cannabis use has become increasingly common, but with varying levels of risk associated with its consumption. Researchers suggest that establishing standard units for cannabis use could help guide safer consumption patterns.

Why Standardized Units Matter

The United States has a clear definition of a "standard drink" to guide safe alcohol consumption, but similar guidelines are lacking for cannabis. A well-defined and standardized unit of measurement is essential for both cannabis users and healthcare professionals to understand the risks associated with heavy use.

Setting Limits: How Much is Too Much?

A new study published in Addiction has proposed a standardized unit system to identify thresholds at which cannabis use is associated with cannabis use disorder (CUD) in adults and adolescents. The researchers used 5 milligrams (mg) of THC as the standard unit, a quantity first implemented by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) in 2021.

The study analyzed data from the CannTeen study, a year-long observational study that tracked cannabis use patterns among adults and adolescents. The findings suggest that setting limits could help guide safer consumption among frequent users, particularly young people who are at higher risk of developing CUD.

Reducing Risk through Awareness

If you use cannabis regularly, being aware of your consumption can support healthier decisions. For healthcare professionals, a framework for cannabis use could facilitate consistent research methods and more reliable diagnoses. As Dr. Rachel Lees Thorne, first study author, noted, "The aim of this work is harm reduction." By establishing clearer guidelines for safe cannabis use, we can potentially reduce the risk associated with its consumption.

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