How Cannabis Regulation Became a Giant Experiment

How Cannabis Regulation Became a Giant Experiment

From The Ongoing Transformation by Issues in Science and Technology

February 3, 2026 · 32 min

About this episode

This episode discusses the complexities of cannabis regulation in the U.S. as a giant experiment influenced by state-level decisions and federal policies.

Cannabis policy in the United States has been, in many ways, a giant experiment. The drug was recently reclassified by the Trump administration from a Schedule I to a Schedule III drug, but remains federally illegal. On the state level, cannabis’s availability to patients and consumers has been determined by voters, not by scientists and regulators. Each state has a different approach to cannabis regulation and product safety, and as a result, a patient using medical cannabis in Florida might be exposed to different risks than a consumer in California, for example. On this episode, host Kelsey Schoenberg is joined by toxicologist Maxwell C. K. Leung , assistant professor at Arizona State University and the director of the ASU Cannabis Analytics, Safety and Health Initiative , and Symone T. Griffith , an ASU Presidential Scholar and doctoral candidate at Arizona State University. Leung and Griffith, who wrote about cannabis regulation and product safety for the Fall 2025 Issues , explain how the federal-state legal divide has shaped cannabis safety, research, and policy. They also share what it’s like to be a researcher working in this space. RESOURCES Read Leung, Griffith, and…

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