Evaluating the Geography of Medical Cannabis Facilities on Crime, Price and Use

描述（由申请人提供）：1996年，加州是第一个通过《同情使用法案》的州，该法案允许出于医疗或医疗目的合法使用大麻。尽管在使用大麻治疗许多慢性疾病方面处于领先地位，但很少有系统的研究调查这些药房的开放和关闭如何改变其所在社区的生态景观。目前的申请利用了在洛杉矶和萨克拉门托市进行的一项自然实验，以评估这些药房的增长和随后的减少是如何在13年的时间里导致犯罪和大麻使用和依赖的变化的。拟议中的研究将考察这些药房的密度和位置、大麻及其相关产品的价格以及多种情况下的犯罪之间的关系。此外，使用门户网站调查将使我们能够了解客户购买大麻的距离以及使用不同药房的客户类型。将测试五个具体目标：(1)检查大麻药房的密度是否与暴力和财产犯罪率的上升有关；(2)研究大麻药房密度的变化是否与大麻依赖率和滥用率的类似变化有关；(3)确定社区特征（包括其他药房的位置和密度）是否与药房之间的价格差异有关；(4)根据生态位理论，考察高密度地区是否存在更强的赞助人特征；(5)确定医用大麻使用模式是否与医用大麻患者的总体健康水平和/或诊断相符。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): In 1996, California was the first state to pass a Compassionate Use Act which allowed for the legal use of cannabis for medicinal or medical purposes. Despite leading the way for the use of cannabis in the treatment of many chronic disorders, little systematic research has been conducted that has examined how the opening and closing of these dispensaries change the ecological landscape of the neighborhoods in which they are located. The current application takes advantage of a natural experiment occurring in Los Angeles and Sacramento Cities to assess how both the growth of and subsequent reduction in these dispensaries has resulted in changes in crime and cannabis use and dependence over a thirteen-year period. The proposed research will examine the relationship between the density and location of these dispensaries, prices of marijuana and related products, and crime in multiple contexts. Further, use of portal surveys will enable us to understand the distance to which clients travel to obtain cannabis and the types of clients who use different dispensaries. Five specific aims will be tested: (1) Examine whether the density of cannabis dispensaries is related to increases in rates of violent and property crimes; (2) Examine whether the changing density of cannabis dispensaries is related to similar changes in rates of cannabis dependence and abuse; (3) Determine whether or not neighborhood characteristics (including location and density of other dispensaries) are related to price differences across dispensaries; (4) Investigate whether or not there is greater clustering by patron characteristics consistent with niche theory in high density areas; and (5) Determine whether or not patterns of medical cannabis use correspond to overall health levels and/or diagnosis of medical cannabis patients.