Places with more marijuana dispensaries have more marijuana-related hospitalizations

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2015-08/uops-pwm081015.php

Public Release: 10-Aug-2015
Places with more marijuana dispensaries have more marijuana-related hospitalizations
University of Pittsburgh Schools of the Health Sciences

People who live in areas of California with a higher density of marijuana dispensaries experience a greater number of hospitalizations involving marijuana abuse and dependence, a University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health analysis discovered.

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When the research team mapped the location of marijuana dispensaries and cross-referenced it with the ZIP code of each patient's home, they found that each additional dispensary per square mile in a ZIP code was associated with a 6.8 percent increase in the number of hospitalizations linked to marijuana abuse and dependence.

In addition, Dr. Mair and her team found that marijuana dispensaries and hospitalizations were more likely to be located in areas with lower household incomes and lower educational attainment.

"It's unclear if the marijuana dispensaries are simply locating in neighborhoods that tend to be more disadvantaged and already have underlying problems with marijuana abuse, or if the presence of the dispensaries is causing an increase in abuse and hospitalizations," said Dr. Mair. "It could be a combination of both factors."

Dr. Mair noted that research on the location of marijuana dispensaries has a parallel precedent in the location of liquor stores. This gives policymakers and public health practitioners the opportunity to learn from previous studies on the health effects of density and location of liquor stores in order to design studies that can provide similar data on marijuana dispensaries.

"Once dispensaries open, it is much harder to go back and create regulations to guide their location and density," said Dr. Mair. "Passage of laws permitting marijuana use and sale is likely to continue, so it is critical that we continue to research the impact of dispensaries on the health of local communities to provide guidance on regulations and public health outreach to prevent abuse."