A recent Columbia University study has revealed that youths in New York City have access to marijuana through unlicensed cannabis outlets. Even though New York State laws prohibit individuals under the age of 21 from accessing recreational marijuana, the study found that NYC youth are using illicit sellers to circumvent the state’s cannabis laws and access the drug before they are eligible.
New York State legalized adult-use cannabis in 2021 and officially launched recreational marijuana sales in late 2022. Like in every other state with a regulated cannabis market, licensed cannabis retailers in New York State are legally required to check that their customers are 21 years and older before serving them.
However, senior study author Ryan Sultán posits: What happens when policymakers deregulate recreational marijuana without a concrete plan to prevent youth from accessing the drug? As the Columbia University study found, youth have an incredibly easy time accessing the drug. The researchers published the study, titled “Cannabis Access by Retailer Type in New York City,’ in the journal Pediatrics.
Every U.S. state has taken significant steps to prevent youth from accessing and consuming cannabis. This includes requiring IDs or passports at the point of sale to ensure all buyers are eligible adults.
Senior study author Ryan Sultán, who is also an assistant professor of clinical psychiatry at the Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, said public health reasons are primarily behind these prohibitions. Previous studies have found that cannabis use at an early age can impact brain development and working memory while increasing one’s risk of addiction.
The market’s ongoing obsession with high-potency marijuana has also been associated with negative effects on mental and physical health in adolescents. Even with state laws preventing youth from accessing legal cannabis, illicit sellers are supplying them with increasingly potent cannabis, putting their long-term physical and mental health at risk.
The researchers created a directory of nearly 850 marijuana outlets across the 5 NYC boroughs and found that just 19 of them were licensed to sell marijuana. Additionally, a 22-year-old research assistant visited 37 randomly chosen cannabis outlets undercover as an underage consumer to determine how different types of retail outlets approached product quality information, youth-oriented advertising strategies, and age verification.
7 licensed adult-use marijuana outlets, 5 licensed medical cannabis dispensaries, and 10 unlicensed dispensaries were part of the research assistant’s tour. While the licensed locations used photo IDs for ascertaining customer ages before admitting them into the store, just 10% of the unlicensed retailers verified customer ages.
Additionally, unlicensed cannabis retailers also used marketing strategies that appealed to the youth and sold their products at lower price points compared to the licensed retailers, practices that are likely to attract a younger consumer base.
This proliferation of illicit marijuana sellers stifles the growth of the legal cannabis industry and reduces opportunities for entrepreneurs to start businesses like Innovative Industrial Properties Inc. (NYSE: IIPR) that serve firms in the legal marijuana space. every effort should therefore be undertaken to stamp out the marijuana black market in all states where marijuana is legal.
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