A Tale of Two Groups: Criminal Activity Among Cannabis Dispensary Purchasers and Non-Dispensary Purchasers

Most states now allow legal medical or recreational cannabis sales. Researchers believed this shift would reduce the cannabis black-market. However, studies suggest that black-markets have not reduced as expected. One unexplored possibility could be that cannabis dispensary purchasers possess differing characteristics from black-market purchasers, such as criminal involvement. This study uses data from the 2022 National Survey on Drug Use and Health to investigate whether individuals who purchase cannabis from dispensaries are less likely to be involved in the criminal justice system and self-reported offending. Results suggest that cannabis dispensary purchase is negatively associated with self-reported offending, but positively associated with past year parole. The findings highlight the possibility that these may represent two distinct groups of cannabis users.