TY - JOUR
T1 - Cannabis in the capital
T2 - exploring the spatial association between medical marijuana dispensaries and crime
AU - Zakrzewski, William J.
AU - Wheeler, Andrew P.
AU - Thompson, Andrew J.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2019, © 2019 Midwestern Criminal Justice Association.
PY - 2020/1/1
Y1 - 2020/1/1
N2 - The legalization of medical marijuana remains a controversial policy. An important dimension of marijuana legalization is the siting of dispensaries and their influence on a surrounding community. Specifically, dispensaries, if they engender criminogenic opportunities via changes in routine activities, have the potential to increase crimes in the areas surrounding medicinal marijuana dispensaries (MMDs). Using a quasi-experimental design, we examine the relationship between MMDs and crime using micro-spatial units in a novel location. Street level geocoded crime data for violent and nonviolent crime patterns before and after the opening of MMD’s in Washington, D.C. Crime is analyzed with 100 m buffers around each dispensary and control location drawn from propensity score matching. Differences between crime rates pre- and postoperation are compared. With the exception of one location, crime decreased or remained constant in geographical areas following the opening of a dispensary. MMDs do not appear to have an immediate criminogenic effect. Implications for future research regarding potential confounding factors and data limitations are discussed.
AB - The legalization of medical marijuana remains a controversial policy. An important dimension of marijuana legalization is the siting of dispensaries and their influence on a surrounding community. Specifically, dispensaries, if they engender criminogenic opportunities via changes in routine activities, have the potential to increase crimes in the areas surrounding medicinal marijuana dispensaries (MMDs). Using a quasi-experimental design, we examine the relationship between MMDs and crime using micro-spatial units in a novel location. Street level geocoded crime data for violent and nonviolent crime patterns before and after the opening of MMD’s in Washington, D.C. Crime is analyzed with 100 m buffers around each dispensary and control location drawn from propensity score matching. Differences between crime rates pre- and postoperation are compared. With the exception of one location, crime decreased or remained constant in geographical areas following the opening of a dispensary. MMDs do not appear to have an immediate criminogenic effect. Implications for future research regarding potential confounding factors and data limitations are discussed.
KW - crime
KW - medical marijuana dispensaries
KW - Micro places
KW - propensity score matching
UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/85062446882
U2 - 10.1080/0735648X.2019.1582351
DO - 10.1080/0735648X.2019.1582351
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85062446882
SN - 0735-648X
VL - 43
SP - 1
EP - 15
JO - Journal of Crime and Justice
JF - Journal of Crime and Justice
IS - 1
ER -
