Each and every day California marijuana retailers do a great job at preventing underage people from entering their businesses to purchase cannabis.
Recently, researchers put together a study to put the cannabis industry’s age compliant requirements in California to the test. They sent out people who appeared to be underage to 50 randomly selected cannabis dispensaries across the state. The study was focused on to see if they could get in without presenting proper identification and/or purchase marijuana products. Police officers are allowed to use minors as decoys to test compliance.
The real question is, did California pass the test?
Yes, we did. This is great news for California and another step in the right direction. Every single retailer asked for identification. “It was somewhat surprising that there was 100 percent compliance with the ID policy to keep underage patrons from purchasing marijuana directly from licensed outlets,” the authors of the study, published this month in the Journal of Safety Research, wrote. “However, that was consistent with what was observed in two other states, Washington and Colorado” (Marijuana Moment).
Even though the 100% compliant results of the study were surprising to researchers, the reasoning behind the perfect results is not. Think about it just for a second. Of course, California dispensaries are going to take the age and identification requirements seriously. If they don’t, they could loose their license, their business and be responsbile to pay the fines. That is just not a risk that dispensaries here in California are willing to take. Our state has worked too hard to get to where we are today with cannabis.
If you have ever shopped at a marijuana dispensary, you are most likely use to stopping at a “check-in” spot before even truly enter the main part of the store. This is where you show your identification and medical card and/or medical letter. Here in California, anyone who provides/sells cannabis to someone underage faces up to six months in jail and a maximum $500 fine for a first offense.
“It appears that licensed recreational marijuana outlets in California are checking young patrons for identification of their age. Therefore, it is unlikely that youth are purchasing marijuana directly from these outlets,” the new study says. “It is more likely they are using other sources, such as asking an adult to purchase it for them, obtaining it from older friends or siblings, and using it at parties where the marijuana use might be shared” (Marijuana Moment).
As we know, there are always various studies going on surrounding cannabis, the science, the benefits and even regarding the users. A federally funded study, the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), was released in October showing that youth marijuana use dropped in 2020 amid the coronavirus pandemic and as more states moved to legalization.
The cannabis industry is constantly growing and changing. Each month and year it seems like there is something new to discuss.
Thankfully, this month, we can say that California is doing their part and keeping those underage out of it’s dispensaries.
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