Correlates of amount spent on marijuana buds during a discrete purchase at medical marijuana dispensaries: Results from a pilot study

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Issue Date
2016-01-12Author
Kepple, Nancy J.
Mulholland, Elycia
Freisthler, Bridget
Schaper, Elizabeth
Publisher
Taylor & Francis
Type
Article
Article Version
Scholarly/refereed, author accepted manuscript
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
Marijuana purchasing behaviors vary by the purchaser’s individual characteristics; however, little is known about patients’ purchasing behaviors when buying from medical marijuana dispensaries (MMDs). Our objective was to explore whether patient characteristics were associated with amount spent during one financial transaction at medical marijuana dispensaries. We conducted a pilot study of 4 purposively sampled MMD locations in Long Beach, California, in 2012. A total of 132 medical marijuana patients (33 patients per dispensary) participated in an exit survey about their demographic characteristics, conditions for their medical marijuana recommendation, amount spent at the dispensary, and cross-streets of where they lived. The sample reported amounts spent on discrete purchases of marijuana buds averaging $40.82 (ranging $10 to $255). Multivariate regression analyses indicated average amount spent differed significantly by patient age and condition. An increase in 10 years of age was associated with a 10% higher amount spent. Receiving a recommendation for anxiety and/or sleeping problems or other nonspecified conditions was related to higher discrete purchase amounts than chronic pain. This pilot suggests that variations in patient purchasing behaviors from MMDs exist. These purchase behaviors can provide insight into variations in how patients use dispensaries, consume products, and allocate personal resources.
Description
This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Journal of Psychoactive Drugs on 12 Jan 2016, available online: http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/02791072.2015.1116719.
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Citation
Kepple, N.J., Mulholland, E., Freisthler, B., & Schaper, E. (2016). Correlates of amount spent on medical marijuana during a discrete purchase: Results from a pilot study. Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, 48(1), 50-55. doi:10.1080/02791072.2015.1116719
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