ABSTRACT. Objective: Routine activities theory purports that crime occurs in places with a suitable target, motivated offender, and lack of guardianship. Medical marijuana dispensaries may be places that satisfy these conditions, but this has not yet been studied. The current study examined whether the density of medical marijuana dispensaries is associated with crime. Method: An ecological, cross-sectional design was used to explore the spatial relationship between density of medical marijuana dispensaries and two types of crime rates (violent crime and property crime) in 95 census tracts in Sacramento, CA, during 2009. Spatial error regression methods were used to determine associations between crime rates and density of medical marijuana dispensaries, controlling for neighborhood characteristics associated with routine activities. Results: Violent and property crime rates were positively associated with percentage of commercially zoned areas, percentage of one-person households, and unemployment rate. Higher violent crime rates were associated with concentrated disadvantage. Property crime rates were positively associated with the percentage of population 15-24 years of age. Density of medical marijuana dispensaries was not associated with violent or property crime rates. Conclusions: Consistent with previous work, variables measuring routine activities at the ecological level were related to crime. There were no observed cross-sectional associations between the density of medical marijuana dispensaries and either violent or property crime rates in this study. These results suggest that the density of medical marijuana dispensaries may not be associated with crime rates or that other factors, such as measures dispensaries take to reduce crime (i.e., doormen, video cameras), may increase guardianship such that it deters possible motivated offenders. (J. Stud. Alcohol Drugs, 73, 523-530, 2012)

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In 1996, California was the first state to pass a Compassionate Use Act allowing for the legal use of marijuana for medical purposes. Here we review several current policy and land use environmental interventions designed to limit problems related to the influx of medical marijuana dispensaries across California cities. Then we discuss the special challenges, solutions, and techniques used for studying the effects of these place-based policies. Finally, we present some of the advanced spatial analytic techniques that can be used to evaluate the effectiveness of environmental interventions, such as those related to reducing problems associated with the proliferation of medical marijuana dispensaries. Further, using data from a premise survey of all the dispensaries in Sacramento, this study will examine what characteristics and practices of these dispensaries are related to crime within varying distances from the dispensaries (e.g., 100, 250, 500, and 1000 feet). We find that some security measures, such as security cameras and having a door man outside, implemented by medical marijuana dispensary owners might be effective at reducing crime within the immediate vicinity of the dispensaries.

Parental substance use disorder (SUD) is associated with an added risk for child abuse and neglect, but less is understood about how a range of parental use behaviors is associated with differential maltreatment frequencies. This study used the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being (NSCAW I) to create categories for parental substance use behaviors that are conceptually associated with varying levels of substance-related impairments. The study sample was composed of 2100 parents of children ages 2-17 years from Wave 4 data collection. Weighted negative binomial regression models assessed the relationship between substance use behavior patterns and maltreatment frequencies by type. Behavior patterns defined by some form of past year substance use were associated with a higher frequency of physical or emotional abuse compared to non-users. In contrast, only past year SUD was associated with a higher frequency of neglect compared to other categories. In sum, the relationship between substance use and maltreatment frequencies differed for abuse and neglect, suggesting different pathways may be underlying these observed relationships.

Although drug use is considered a risk factor for child maltreatment, very little work has examined how the drug environment may affect physical abuse and neglect by parents. Utilizing information from a telephone survey with 2,597 respondents from 43 cities with valid police data on narcotics incidents, we analyzed the relationship between drug use, drug availability, and child maltreatment using multilevel models. City-level rates of drug abuse and dependence were related to more frequent physical abuse. Parents who use drugs in areas with greater availability of drugs reported more physical abuse and physical neglect. Emotional support was protective of all types of maltreatment. While most child welfare interventions focus on reducing parental drug use in order to reduce child abuse, these findings suggest environmental prevention or neighborhood strengthening approaches designed to reduce the supply of illicit drugs may also reduce child abuse through multiple mechanisms.