Rosalie Liccardo Pacula
Rosalie Liccardo Pacula PhD holds the Elizabeth Garrett Chair in Health Policy, Economics & Law in the Sol Price School of Public Policy at the University of Southern California. Her research focuses on issues related to drug markets, examining factors influencing demand and supply for both licit and illicit intoxicating substances. She has been the lead investigator on several NIH studies examining the impact of state marijuana liberalization policies (decriminalization, medicalization and legalization) and opioid policies (those targeting treatment, supply reduction and harm reduction). Her ground breaking work in this area has led to her invitation to serve on NIDA’s National Advisory Council Cannabis Policy Workgroup (2017), the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA’s) technical advisory committee on preventing cannabis use among youth (2020-present), the World Health Organization’s Technical Expert Committee on Cannabis Use and Cannabis Policy (December 2019-present), and the CDC’s National Injury Prevention’s Board of Scholarly Counselors (2021- present). She is the current President of the International Society for the Study of Drug Policy, a Research Associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research, and sits on several journal editorial boards.
Cannabis use, markets and policy and the effects of Covid-19
Cannabis policy has always been something of great interest to members of the International Society of for the Study of Drug Policy (ISSDP), who have been examining cannabis markets (production and supply, retail trade in legal medical markets, quasi-legal and legal recreational markets and illicit markets, and use) so they were well situated to monitor changes in these markets in the U.S., Canada, and Europe when COVID-19 hit. In the joint ICARA-ISSDP webinar, we discussed how consumers and markets reacted to COVID, noting that use of cannabis rose despite initial restrictions on the supply. Markets recovered very quickly, swiftly moving on-line, which allowed greater access for many users. Key insights from the ongoing studies of internet market sales and self-reported use will be discussed.