Term of Award
Spring 2026
Degree Name
Doctor of Public Health in Public Health Leadership (Dr.P.H.)
Document Type and Release Option
Dissertation (restricted to Georgia Southern)
Copyright Statement / License for Reuse
Digital Commons@Georgia Southern License
Department
Department of Health Policy and Community Health
Committee Chair
Dr. Linda Kimsey
Committee Member 1
Dr. Nandi Marshall
Committee Member 2
Dr. William Mase
Abstract
Limited Access Cannabis Product (LACP) laws have emerged across the United States not only as restrictive, low-THC policy options, but also as incremental steps along a broader spectrum of cannabis reform. This dissertation examines LACP laws in six states—Florida, Georgia, Kansas, North Carolina, Texas, and Virginia—to understand the policy dynamics that shape their design and adoption. Kingdon’s Multiple Streams Framework is used to explore how problems are defined, which policy options are considered administratively acceptable, and how political conditions in generally cautious environments structure opportunities for change. The study analyzes statutory and regulatory features of LACP programs and situates them in relation to federal prohibition and more expansive state cannabis regimes. By integrating a comparative legal analysis with Kingdon’s framework, the dissertation investigates how LACP programs emerge, why they tend to remain tightly controlled, and what their development reveals about incremental reform in contested areas of public health law and drug policy.
Recommended Citation
Williams, Dwight D. Jr., "Federal Silence, State Resistance: A Multiple Streams Analysis of the Legal Geography of Medical Cannabis Access in the U.S" (2026). College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations. 3068.
https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/etd/3068
Research Data and Supplementary Material
No
