A Tale of Two Markets: Analyzing Differences in Legal and Black Market Marijuana Consumers

This study investigates the characteristics of marijuana dispensary purchasers to clarify the demographic and potential behaviors associated with this particular group. Upon analyzation, there do appear to be two distinct group of marijuana users; Those who purchase from the black market, and those who purchase from a legal dispensary. Specifically, males are less likely than females to buy from a dispensary, while higher income and education levels correlate with increased dispensary purchases. Moreover, factors such as ag of first marijuana use and levels of risky behavior influence dispensary purchasing behavior. Furthermore, dispensary purchasers appear to exhibit lower rates of certain drug use compared to non-dispensary purchasers, specifically the use of cigarettes, cocaine, and methamphetamine. Criminal activity engagement also appears to be influenced by dispensary purchasing, specifically that of selling drugs, assaulting others, and driving under the influence. This study underscores the importance of understanding consumer characteristics within legal marijuana markets with the attempt to help better inform policy-making decision and strategies to bring black market users to a legal market.