Summary: Why is it important to consider rules about the location of marijuana dispensaries and the density of dispensaries within an area?Within the past few years, medical marijuana has been made legal in several states. Even though research has shown the many benefits to medical marijuana, there are still more research that needs to be done on safety. According to a recent analysis conducted by the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health, people who live in an area with large amounts of marijuana dispensaries have a larger number of hospitalizations. What did the analysis find? Researchers found that hospitalizations with marijuana abuse or dependence codes increased from 17,469 in 2001 to 68,408 in 2012. More than 85 percent of marijuana-related hospitalizations were coded as abuse, rather than dependence, and 99.2 percent were secondary codes, which meant the person was primarily hospitalized for something other than marijuana. What else did the research find? Listen in as Dr. Christina Mair shares her study on marijuana dispensaries and marijuana hospitalizations.
