Living near marijuana dispensaries makes youth more likely to use it

Young adults who live in neighborhoods with a higher number of medical marijuana dispensaries use pot more frequently than their peers and have more positive views about the drug, according to a study released by the Rand Corp.

The results were strongest among young adults who lived near dispensaries that had storefront signs, suggesting that regulating such advertising could be one strategy if policymakers are concerned about curbing use of marijuana, according to Rand.

The study is the first to show that storefront marijuana signage is extremely influential and substantially magnifies the associations between higher density of medical marijuana dispensaries with greater use of marijuana and positive views about the drug, according to the think tank.

Based on research from the same project, the city of Los Angeles adopted an ordinance in 2018 to restrict some storefront and billboard advertising.

“Our findings suggest that as the marijuana retail outlets become more visible and more numerous, they may influence the way that young adults perceive and use marijuana,” said Regina Shih, the study’s lead author and a senior behavioral scientist at the nonprofit research organization.