Twenty states and the District of Columbia have passed laws that allow individuals to use marijuana for medical purposes, including legalization of recreational use for adults over 21 in Colorado, Alaska and Washington. With progressive marijuana trends and nearly one-third of the American population living in states with medical or recreational marijuana there is a concern about the safety of the local residents in the neighborhoods surrounding these marijuana dispensaries. Around the world, similar places have been present since the 1970's, such as in Amsterdam's "coffee houses". These establishments have generally been associated with criminal networks or providing a middle-man supply increasing the crime surround these establishments (Yu-Wei Chu, Sept. 2012)1.
Due to this being such a recent and relevant event with medical marijuana only being in legal practice for roughly a decade and the use of recreational marijuana happening in just 2012, the data and amount of surveys is very sparse or on a larger scale than the scope of this project. This is making it difficult to understand the changes that the marijuana dispensaries are having on the local and nearby neighborhoods. Similar to other drugs, most notably alcohol, marijuana is a controlled substance with some negative side effects that we still do not fully understand. Therefore the safety and concern of the public should be a priority when addressing such implications of legislation for the use of marijuana. I wanted to create an analytical study that would look at the ecological impacts (if any) on the local residents that both recreational and medical marijuana dispensaries are producing. To best accomplish this study there should be a local cross-sectional survey, interview of the current feelings and attitudes towards dispensaries as well as an analytical data collection (such as GIS) to provide a basis for any future concerns.
