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Full-Text Articles in Food and Drug Law
Has The "M" Word Been Framed? Marijuana, Cannabis And Public Opinion, Robert A. Mikos, Cindy D. Kam
Has The "M" Word Been Framed? Marijuana, Cannabis And Public Opinion, Robert A. Mikos, Cindy D. Kam
Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications
Over the past two decades, a growing cadre of US states has legalized the drug commonly known as “marijuana.” But even as more states legalize the drug, proponents of reform have begun to shun the term “marijuana” in favor of the term “cannabis.” Arguing that the “M” word has been tainted and may thus dampen public support for legalization, policy advocates have championed “cannabis” as an alternative and more neutral name for the drug. Importantly, however, no one has tested whether calling the drug “cannabis” as opposed to “marijuana” actually has any effect on public opinion. Using an original survey …
Responsible Precautions For Uncertain Environmental Risks, W. Kip Viscusi, Joel Huber, Jason Bell
Responsible Precautions For Uncertain Environmental Risks, W. Kip Viscusi, Joel Huber, Jason Bell
Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications
Uncertain future risks pose cognitive and analytical challenges to household decision makers. Risks with uncertain probabilities, coupled with potentially severe outcomes pose problems for decision-making and are prone to overreactions. Imprecision in risk estimates generates behavioral distortions such as ambiguity aversion. This article presents new empirical results indicating household overvaluations of uncertain threats posed by several drinking water risks: traces of prescription drugs in drinking water, plastic water bottles with bisphenol-A, and the weed killer atrazine in drinking water. Negative reactions reflect responses to ambiguous risks, but policies driven by these concerns may misallocate regulatory resources due to risk conservatism …