As marijuana establishments open after the drug is legalized, the density of those recreational retailers is associated with increased use and increased use among young adults, according to a new RAND Corporation study.
The study is among the first to examine associations between marijuana establishment density and marijuana use over time, and is the first to include unlicensed medications in such a study.
Studying young adults in Los Angeles County the year before and the year after marijuana became available for recreational purchase in retail stores in California, the study found that the density of permitted marijuana establishments was linked to use young adult marijuana, heavy use and intentions to use. The density of unlicensed establishments was associated with heavy adult marijuana use and symptoms of cannabis use disorder.
The results are published by The American Journal on Addictions.
“Efforts to regulate unlicensed retailers and reduce the concentration of marijuana dealers could be important factors to consider when developing strategies to mitigate public health harm from legal access. extended to marijuana, “said Eric Pedersen, lead author of the study and supplemental researcher at RAND, a nonprofit research organization.
Young adults are in a higher risk group for heavy and troublesome marijuana use. More than half of young adults start marijuana use before the age of 21, and heavy use in young adults can lead to physical and mental health problems.
Researchers have begun studying how the density of marijuana establishments near schools and residential addresses is related to use, but so far most of that work has examined medical marijuana treatments in time before leisure outlets were opened.
The RAND study is based on two studies of 1,097 young adults aged 21 and over from Los Angeles County who were asked about their marijuana use a year apart – before and after the material became available for recreational use there in California in January 2018. Those surveyed as part of an ongoing RAND project examining several factors about alcohol, marijuana and other drug use.
The study used geocoding methods and several data sources about marijuana businesses to determine the density of permitted and unlicensed marijuana sellers within four miles of the participants ’homes.
The study found that a higher number of permitted marijuana establishments within 4 miles of a person’s home had a greater association with a higher likelihood of marijuana use in the past month after controlling any use this year. before.
For every additional allowed marijuana revolt, comments from marijuana use were expected to rise 0.7% in the last month. For example, there was an estimated 10% increase in the numbers of marijuana use for someone with 14 permitted establishments within a radius of 4? Miles compared to someone without outsourcing.
The decisions varied according to the specific marijuana product and according to the licensing status of the marijuana seller. For permitted establishments, higher densities were significantly associated with greater likelihood of use in the past, greater likelihood for the past month per day or near daily use, and stronger intentions to use marijuana in the next 6 months.
For unlicensed establishments, which accounted for 62% of all outlets at the time of the second survey, a higher density of outbuildings was significantly associated with a greater likelihood than last month per day or close to daily use, and for those with a previous year’s use, more consumed, and more signs of hemp use disorder.
“Unlicensed sellers are illegal and do not comply with licensing requirements that prohibit the sale of products from unlicensed producers or restrict the amount of marijuana an adult can buy each day,” he said. Pedersen, who is also an associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at USC’s Keck School of Medicine. “Adults who use marijuana more often may be lured into buying from unlicensed shops due to discounted prices and a lack of regulation on purchase volumes.”
Support for the study was provided by the National Institute on Drug Misuse, and the National Institute on Alcohol and Alcohol Misuse.
Other authors of the study are Caislin L. Firth, Anthony Rodriguez, Regina A. Shih, Rachana Seelam, Lisa Kraus, Michael S. Dunbar, Joan S. Tucker, Beau Kilmer and Elizabeth J. D’Amico.
The Social and Economic Wellbeing sector of RAND seeks to improve the health, and social and economic wellbeing of people and communities around the world.