Availability of licensed cannabis businesses in relation to area deprivation in Washington state: A spatiotemporal analysis of cannabis business presence between 2014 and 2017

Abstract

Introduction and Aims In states where recreational use of cannabis has been legalised, increasing numbers of cannabis licensed cannabis businesses resulted in concerns about their potential social and health impacts. This study examined spatiotemporal variations in availability of cannabis licensed cannabis businesses (i.e. producers, processors and retailers) in relation to area deprivation in Washington state from 2014 to 2017. Design and Methods Data on licensed cannabis businesses were obtained from the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board. The number of licensed cannabis businesses was estimated for Washington's 1446 census tracts. Census tracts were stratified into tertiles based on the Singh's Area Deprivation Index showing socio‐economic characteristics of communities (least‐deprived, middle‐deprived and most‐deprived). The Integrated Nested Laplace Approximation approach allowed for the spatial and temporal characterisation of cannabis businesses, accounting for similarities based on neighbouring census tracts. Results The density of all licensed cannabis outlets increased over time. Most‐deprived areas have increased likelihood of licensed cannabis outlet density when compared to least‐deprived areas. No differences were observed in the likelihood of licensed cannabis outlet density in middle‐deprived areas when compared to least‐deprived areas. Discussion and Conclusions The results of this study showed disparity with respect to licensed cannabis outlet density in Washington state over time. The findings call for initiatives, policies and research that decrease disparities in cannabis outlet locations.

Availability of medical cannabis services by racial, social, and geographic characteristics of neighborhoods in New York: a cross-sectional study

“…Other studies have focused on geospatial locations of medical or recreational cannabis dispensaries, not certifying providers. While most of these studies report that dispensaries were more commonly located in neighborhoods with high levels of poverty or deprivation, or high percentages of Black or Hispanic residents [ 33 – 37 ], one study reported no relationship between locations of dispensaries and these neighborhood characteristics [ 38 ]. There are several potential reasons for the differences in findings between these studies and ours.…”

A Spatiotemporal Analysis of the Association of California City and County Cannabis Policies with Cannabis Outlet Densities

“…Recreational cannabis outlets are disproportionately located in neighborhoods with high proportions of low-income and racial-ethnic minority residents. [15][16][17][18][19] Policies that encourage greater reductions in outlets in vulnerable neighborhoods therefore have the potential to promote health equity.…”

Municipal regulation of cannabis and public health in Canada: A comparison of Alberta, Ontario, and Québec

“…That is, the differences in the density of stores and their proximity to schools, and potentially other places where youth and other vulnerable groups are likely the main populations, are likely following the same differential patterns. Moreover, research in Canadian jurisdictions and in some US states (e.g., Colorado, California, Washington, and Oregon), also found higher stores per capita in neighborhoods with a larger proportion of racial or ethnic minorities, lower household income, and medium to high crime index (Amiri et al., 2019; Firth et al., 2019; Myran et al., 2021; Shi et al., 2016; Unger et al., 2020).…”