Relationship Between Cannabis Dispensary Density, Proximity, and Attitudes Toward Medical Cannabis: A Cross-Sectional...

Public attitudes toward medicinal cannabis (MC) remain mixed, particularly in areas with legal access to recreational cannabis (RC). This study aimed to explore the relationship between proximity to cannabis dispensaries, dispensary density, and attitudes toward MC. Specifically, we hypothesized that individuals living closer to cannabis dispensaries or in areas with higher dispensary density would have more negative attitudes toward MC.

Data were collected through an online survey administered from February to July 2021 and March to May 2022. Respondents' attitudes toward MC were measured using the Medical Cannabis Attitudes Scale (MCAS), and their zip code was used to calculate dispensary density and proximity. Statistical analyses included Spearman's rank-order correlation, ANOVA to assess relationships between attitudes, distance, and density, and a Generalized Least Squares regression analysis to evaluate the relationship between demographic, social, and geographic predictors and MCAS scores.

A total of 935 respondents participated, with 743 residing in zip codes with no dispensaries, 160 in moderate-density zip codes, and 32 in high-density zip codes. A weak positive correlation was found between greater distance from a dispensary and more favorable attitudes toward MC MCAS, r _s(933) = 0.090, p < 0.05. However, there was no statistically significant difference in MCAS scores between different density groups (F(2932) = 0.683, p = 0.505). The overall model was significant, F(9918) = 2.62, p = 0.005, with an R ² of 0.025; gender (p = 0.004), age (p = 0.048) and state legal status (p < 0.001) contributed significantly to the model.

The study provides evidence of a weak positive correlation between distance from cannabis dispensaries and favorable attitudes toward MC, with gender and state legal status contributing to attitudes, while dispensary density did not significantly impact attitudes. However, neither density nor distance from dispensaries contributed to the regression model. These findings suggest that while proximity may influence MC attitudes, the factors impacting attitudes toward MC require further investigation.