Racial and ethnic differences in quitting when marijuana retail markets are legal: evidence from California

Abstract Racial and ethnic minorities are subjected to greater enforcement of marijuana laws under prohibition. This research examines whether there is a corresponding difference in their response to the introduction of legal protection of marijuana retail markets. We use California’s medical marijuana retail market as a case study. A well-established system of dispensaries operating in California before the introduction of legal protection of its medical marijuana retail market allows us to disentangle the effect of legal risk from the effect of access. Drawing on longitudinal information from the NLSY97, we find that legally protecting the medical marijuana retail market reduced quitting by racial and ethnic minorities but not non-Hispanic whites. The reduction in quitting by minorities is driven by males, and by those who had used for substantial durations. These differing responses are consistent with a higher risk of arrest for simple marijuana offenses faced by racial and ethnic minority males under prohibition. Our findings raise concerns that legal retail markets for marijuana may exacerbate existing health disparities, especially for minority males.