Impact of Cannabis Retailers on Emergency Visits in Neighborhoods

A recent study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine investigated the correlation between the proximity of cannabis retail stores and the rate of cannabis-related emergency department visits in Ontario, Canada.

This research, conducted by a team from North York General Hospital and partner institutions, analyzed data from over six million residents aged 15 to 105 across 10,574 neighborhoods from April 2017 through December 2022.

The study specifically looked at the impact following the legalization of cannabis in October 2018. Researchers defined exposure to cannabis retail stores based on their proximity, categorizing neighborhoods as exposed if they were within 1000 meters of a store, and unexposed if they were situated more than 1000 meters away.

The main health impact measure was the rate of cannabis-attributable emergency department visits per 100,000 people aged 15 years or older. The findings revealed that neighborhoods close to cannabis retailers did not initially show an increase in monthly cannabis-attributable emergency department visits, unlike unexposed neighborhoods, which experienced a decline in such visits over the same timeframe.

However, when comparing the two groups directly, exposed neighborhoods exhibited a 12% increase in the absolute rate of cannabis-attributable emergency visits relative to unexposed areas, with a confidence interval ranging from 6% to 19%.

Notably, neighborhoods with multiple cannabis stores located within 1000 meters experienced even greater increases in emergency visits compared to those with fewer stores. The study highlights that the combination of cannabis legalization and the proliferation of retail outlets may pose unique public health risks that differ from legalization alone.

These results underline the importance of considering retail store placement and density in urban planning and public health policy to mitigate potential harms associated with cannabis use. The researchers suggest that limiting the number of cannabis retailers, reducing concentrated clusters of stores, or restricting their placement could support public health objectives.

Overall, this research sheds light on how cannabis retail environments can affect community health, particularly in urban centers that are often in the lowest income brackets, emphasizing a need for informed policy decisions as the cannabis market continues to expand.