Doctors for Cannabis Regulation Organize Major Support for Universal Adoption of International Cannabis Product Symbol

WASHINGTON - Aug. 16, 2023 - PRLog -- Doctors for Cannabis Regulation (DFCR), the global voice for physicians and other health professionals to advance the legalization and science-based regulation of cannabis, has submitted a letter on behalf of 21 prominent public health, social justice, and patient advocacy groups to compel cannabis policymakers and regulators from the U.S. and around the world to adopt the International Intoxicating Cannabinoid Product Symbol (IICPS) for all cannabis product packaging.

The letter details the importance of a standardized, universal cannabis product symbol. The IICPS symbol which contains a cannabis leaf, universally associated with cannabis, is enclosed in a familiar black-bordered yellow warning triangle. The symbol is based upon existing consensus standards developed in an open environment to ensure public safety and promote best practices through collaboration by professionals from both the public and private sectors. This rationale played a major factor in the endorsement by DFCR and the other 21 stakeholders for the symbol to be adopted on a global scale. Other factors include that the symbol:

• Enables people of all ages and backgrounds to identify intoxicating cannabinoids with a quick glance at a product package.
• Excludes any alphanumeric characters or punctuation.
• Is easily distinguishable from other symbols.

To date, the IICPS has been incorporated into the cannabis product symbols for Montana, Vermont, New Jersey, and South Dakota. Other states are currently reviewing it for their use as well.

The IICPS was developed through a collaboration between DFCR and standards organization ASTM International with the goal of communicating a simple public health message: "Caution with Cannabis." When designing the symbol, both parties wanted to create a very simple design that could fit within an allotted space on cannabis packaging and incorporate a graphic element that transcends age, language, culture, literacy, and knowledge of cannabis and the Latin alphabet.

The full list of 22 signatories includes the nation's largest organizations supporting public health, social justice, patient, consumer and industry advocacy in the cannabis space:

• Americans for Safe Access (ASA, safeaccessnow.org)
• American Trade Association for Cannabis and Hemp (ATACH, atach.org)
• Association for Cannabis Health Equity and Medicine (ACHEM, achemed.org)
• Cannabis Regulators of Color Coalition (CRCC, crc-coalition.org)
• Clergy for a New Drug Policy (CNDP, newdrugpolicy.org)
• Council for Federal Cannabis Regulation (CFCR, uscfcr.org)
• Doctors for Cannabis Regulation (DFCR, dfcr.org)
• Drug Policy Alliance (DPA, drugpolicy.org)
• Global Alliance for Cannabis Commerce (GACC, gacc.io)
• Immigrant Defense Project (IDP, immdefense.org)
• International Institute for Cannabinoids (ICANNA, www.institut-icanna.com/en/)
• JustLeadershipUSA (JLUSA, jlusa.org)
• JUSTÜS Foundation (justus.foundation)
• Marijuana Policy Project (MPP, mpp.org)
• Minorities for Medical Marijuana (M4MM, minorities4medicalmarijuana.org)
• National Cannabis Industry Association (NCIA, thecannabisindustry.org)
• National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML, norml.org)
• Parabola Center for Law and Policy (parabolacenter.com)
• Society of Cannabis Clinicians (SCC, www.cannabisclinicians.org)
• Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP, ssdp.org)
• Unified Legacy Operators Council (UNLOC INC., unlocnow.org)
• Veterans Cannabis Coalition (VCC, veteranscannacoalition.org)

The full letter to global cannabis regulators can be found here.

About Doctors for Cannabis Regulation

DFCR serves as the global voice for physicians and other health professionals to advance the legalization and science-based regulation of cannabis. Through education and advocacy efforts, we leverage the influence and expertise of the medical community to realize the legislative changes necessary to promote improved public health, social justice, and consumer protections. For more information, please visit www.dfcr.org.