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With cannabis policy reform gaining traction, predictably dire predictions about regulated markets have followed.

You may have heard that cannabis regulation is the first step in an inevitable slide toward an unchecked, out-of-control “Big Marijuana” industry driven only by profit. Vox even referred to this concern as the “best argument against marijuana legalization.”

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But claims that cannabis policy reform will lead to Big Marijuana underplay the level of government control that is made possible under regulation.

In many jurisdictions, restrictions on advertising can be used to prevent the expansion of the cannabis industry, and any potential subsequent increases in cannabis consumption. Uruguay has made use of this option, having banned all cannabis advertising and marketing when the country regulated recreational use of the drug in 2013. According to Julio Calzada, Secretary-General for the Uruguayan National Assembly on Drugs, the thinking was simple: “this law deals with substances whose use carries risks and can be harmful, and therefore any form of promoting their use should be avoided.”