DOES THE EDIBLE MARIJUANA MARKET DISCRIMINATE? – A LOOK AT THE DISTRIBUTION OF LAB TESTED MARIJUANA EDIBLES IN LOS ANGELES

Jared T. Stokes

OVERARCHING STUDY

Study is an extension to Drexel University’s study of medical marijuana use in Los Angeles Headed by Dr. Stephen Lankenau

Study Time Frame: 2013-2018 R01 grant from NIH

Impact of medical and recreational usage of marijuana on physical and psychological well being among young adults (18 – 26 years old)

SIGNIFICANCE OF STUDY California was the first state

to approve marijuana for medical use in 1996 Proposition 215 (The

Compassionate Use Act) According to the Controlled

Substance Act (CSA), marijuana, like heroin and LSD, is classified as a Schedule 1 controlled substance(Chapkis & Webb, 2008).

However, current medical research presents its usage as a valuable medical agent (Wolkowicz, 2012).

CURRENT MARIJUANA PRACTICES IN CALIFORNIA

Los Angeles alone is estimated as having around 500 to 1,000 dispensaries and collectivesAn “interim control ordinance” (ICO)

declared a moratorium on new marijuana dispensaries

Lab Testing Cannabinoid profiling tests for the amount of

THC, CBD, and cannabinol, or CBN, which are all important cannabinoids found in marijuana contributing to its therapeutic effects

Can be used to detect impurities found in marijuana

CITY OF LOS ANGELES

MARIJUANA EDIBLES

Wide variety of different products now available to consumers at medical marijuana dispensaries “In addition to the “old school” brownies, marijuana

edibles have widely expanded to include products such as lozenges, candy, gummy bears, and sweets (Newman, 2014)”

Process behind making edibles: Cannabinoids must be extracted from the raw

marijuana plant Marijuana has to be heated and boiled in fat or liquor

in order for medical effects to be experienced “Butters, oils, tinctures, and extracts made from

cannabis infusions are incorporated into edible products” (Wolkowicz, 2012)

MARIJUANA EDIBLES (CONTINUED)

INQUIRIES REGARDING DISTRIBUTION

The “lab tested” label is an adequate predictor of an edible product’s nutritional value “Cannabis that is not safely produced can

contain mold and mildew, harmful bacteria, traces of pesticides or other chemicals or fail to meet promised levels for potency (Newsdesk, 2013).”

The United States currently faces notable differences in the distribution of healthy foods based on socioeconomic status

RESEARCH QUESTIONS

“Does the edible marijuana market discriminate?”

Assumptions Low-income neighborhoods may contain less

marijuana edibles that are lab tested Reputable lab tested edible marijuana

businesses may focus on marketing to wealthier areas

RESOURCE FOR DATA COLLECTION

RESOURCE FOR DATA COLLECTION (CONTINUED)

Dispensaries were located using weedmaps.com An online database

operated by Weedmaps Media Inc. of Denver, Colorado

Provides online resources: Email services Classified ads Forums

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS

Unit of Analysis Marijuana dispensaries

Data Collection Names of each marijuana dispensary, edibles

sold, and their corresponding addresses were collected and stored using a word processor

Data Analysis All marijuana dispensaries were numbered from

one to 100 Dispensaries were sorted in a spreadsheet

application according to edible items sold Zip codes and demographic data were also

utilized

EDIBLES COLLECTIVE

EDIBLES COLLECTIVE (CONTINUED)

90046 15, 67, 98 74 10 14% 1864 $52,593 38.5 50,546

90048 24, 73 48 6 13% 2198 $75,472 39.2 22,691

90057 10 30 4 13% 681 $27,854 31.2 45,833

90064 36 48 5 10% 2224 $81,240 40 26,637

90065 87 22 1 5% 608 $55,885 36.1 46,054

DISPENSARY DEMOGRAPHICSDispensary Characteristics Census Characteristics

Zip Code Dispensaries Represented

# of Edibles sold

# of Lab Tested Edibles

sold

% of Lab Tested Edibles

sold

Number of Businesses

Avg. Income Per Household

Median Age

Current Population

90004 11 7 5 71% 1045 $38,430 34.8 63,761

90006 77 10 5 50% 1016 $30,260 32.4 61,607

90008 20 25 11 44% 324 $39,661 39.7 33,696

90011 9, 83 15 6 40% 709 $30,198 26.2 108,213

90013 84 21 8 38% 1222 $17,072 44.6 7,011

DISPENSARY DEMOGRAPHICS (CONTINUED)

Zip Code Number of Businesses

Avg. Income Per

Household

Median Age Current Population

2010 Population

90003 410 $29,174 26.3 72,022 66,266

90007 912 $22,047 24 40,158 40,920

90012 1260 $26,094 36.3 23,888 31,103

90025 3525 $72,625 34.7 44,981 42,147

90033 526 $28,773 29.2 47,133 48,852

90063 323 $38,801 29 54,377 55,758

Mean Median Range Standard Deviation

Skewness

Number of Businesses

1054.441176 ~ 1054

873.5 ~ 874

Avg. Income Per Household

$45,179 $39,118 Min: $13,504

Max: $81,240

18368.23306 ~ 18,368

0.527587228

Median Age 35.27352941 ~ 35

34.6 ~ 35

Current Population

44,974 45,944

Mean Median Range Standard Deviation

Skewness

Number of Businesses

1159.333333 ~ 1159

719

Avg. Income Per Household

$36,252 $28,974 Min: $22,047

Max: $72,625

18657.40091 ~ 18,657

2.006988218

Median Age 29.91666667 ~ 30

29.1 ~ 29

Current Population

47,093 46,057

DISPENSARY STATISTICS

Lab Tested Edible Product

# of Edibles Sold

# of Lab Tested Edibles Sold

Percentage

Cheeba Chews 34 22 65%

Bhang Chocolates

34 15 44%

Korova 34 7 21%

Molly Rancher 34 7 21%

Casa Luna 34 6 18%

Kiva 34 6 18%

Auntie Dolores 34 4 12%

Tetra Labs 34 4 12%

The Venice Cookie Co.

34 4 12%

Edipure 34 3 9%

Kush Cake Pop

34 2 6%

Kind Bake 34 1 3%

Paradise Candy Co.

34 1 3%

The most common edibles observed in all dispensaries were the following: Brownies Lollipops Jolly Ranchers Chocolate Bars Cakes

MEDICAL MARIJUANA EDIBLES

RESULTS

Overall, 57 out of the 100 marijuana dispensaries carried lab tested marijuana edibles The 57 dispensaries containing lab tested edibles

were located in 34 Los Angeles zip codes The 43 dispensaries that did not sell lab tested

edibles were located in six Los Angeles zip codes Mean annual income of zip codes that

contained dispensaries selling lab tested edibles was the following: $45,179

Mean annual income for six zip codes that did not contain dispensaries selling lab tested edibles: $36,252

RESULTS (CONTINUED)

A Mann Whitney U Test was used to test significance of findings Assumed 95% confidence Z = (U - nAnB/2) ÷ [√(nAnB (nA + nB + 1)/12)] A statistically significant Z score of -3.86 was

produced

DISCUSSION

Average annual income for zip codes that contained dispensaries selling lab tested edibles was higher than for zip codes with dispensaries that did not sell lab tested edibles Zip codes containing dispensaries that did not sell

lab tested edibles were located on the edge of East Los Angeles (however, there was one outlier)

Average median age for zip codes that contained dispensaries selling lab tested edibles was also higher than zip codes containing dispensaries that did not sell lab tested edibles: 35 years old vs. 30 years old

LIMITATIONS

Selection of dispensaries for analysis was not done randomly

Cross-sectional Study Data was gathered between the months of

January and February, 2014 Data collection

Edible items were manually counted Dispensaries often misspelled the names of

edibles

CONCLUSIONS AND FUTURE RECOMMENDATIONS Implications

Patients living in lower income zip codes without lab tested edibles may be subject higher rates of impurities compared to higher income zip codes

If there is truly a difference in the distribution of lab tested edibles, work must be done to lessen disparities observed

Food Audits Uniformity among dispensaries when posting

marijuana edibles on weedmaps.com More information of food items Correct spelling of food items

Repeat this study with a randomized sample Test to see if there are more dispensaries selling lab

tested marijuana edibles in certain zip codes

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REFERENCES Chapkis, W., & Webb, R. (2008). Dying to get high: Marijuana

as medicine. New York, NY: New York University Press. Newman, T. (2014, February 7). [Web log message]. Retrieved

from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tony-newman/edible-marijuana-safety_b_4748069.html

Newman, T. (2014, February 7). [Web log message]. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tony-newman/edible-marijuana-safety_b_4748069.html

Newsdesk. (2013). New labs risk dea raids to test medical marijuana for safety. PBS NewsHour, Retrieved from http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/new-labs-spring-up-to-test-medical-marijuana-for-safety-and-potency/

Wolkowicz, A. (2012). Edible marijuana: A new frontier in the culinary world. Manuscript submitted for publication, Johnson & Wales University - Providence, Providence, RI. Retrieved from http://scholarsarchive.jwu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1009&context=student_scholarship