As marijuana outlets open after the drug is legalized, the density of those recreational retailers is associated with more use and a greater intensity of use among young adults, according to a new RAND Corporation study.
The study is among the first to examine associations between the density of marijuana outlets and marijuana use over time, and is the first to include unlicensed dispensaries in such an analysis.
Studying young adults in Los Angeles County the year before and the year after marijuana was available for recreational purchase in retail shops in California, the study found that the density of licensed marijuana outlets was associated with young adults’ marijuana use, heavy use and intentions to use. The density of unlicensed outlets was associated with young adults’ heavy marijuana use and symptoms of cannabis use disorder.
The findings are published by The American Journal on Addictions.
“Efforts to regulate unlicensed retailers and reduce the density of marijuana retailers may be important factors to be considered when developing strategies to mitigate potential public health harms from expanded legal access to marijuana,” said Eric Pedersen, lead author of the study and an adjunct researcher at RAND, a nonprofit research organization.
Young adults are an at increased risk group for heavy and problematic marijuana use. More than half of…
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As marijuana outlets open after the drug is legalized, the density of those recreational retailers is associated with more use and a greater intensity of use among young adults, according to a new RAND Corporation study.
The study is among the first to examine associations between the density of marijuana outlets and marijuana use over time, and is the first to include unlicensed dispensaries in such an analysis.
Studying young adults in Los Angeles County the year before and the year after marijuana was available for recreational purchase in retail shops in California, the study found that the density of licensed marijuana outlets was associated with young adults’ marijuana use, heavy use and intentions to use. The density of unlicensed outlets was associated with young adults’ heavy marijuana use and symptoms of cannabis use disorder.
The findings are published by The American Journal on Addictions.
“Efforts to regulate unlicensed retailers and reduce the density of marijuana retailers may be important factors to be considered when developing strategies to mitigate potential public health harms from expanded legal access to marijuana,” said Eric Pedersen, lead author of the study and an adjunct researcher at RAND, a nonprofit research organization.
Young adults are an at increased risk group for heavy and problematic marijuana use. More than half of…
