Mapping Cannabis Use and Environmental Availability in a Sample of Black Young Adults: A Descriptive Geolocation Analysis
Year: 2026
Type: preprint
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: Black young adults report higher rates of cannabis use and associated problems, relative to national averages. Yet the environmental contexts contributing to these disparities remain poorly understood. Physical availability of cannabis, indicated by proximity and density of licensed retail vendors, is a robust determinant of typical use, and cannabis vendors are concentrated in neighborhoods with greater proportions of Black residents. Existing research has relied largely on area-level data, limiting insight into where and in what environmental contexts individuals use cannabis in their daily life. This descriptive study used baseline and daily diary data from 181 Black young adults (Mage = 24.03; 43.6% women, 16.6% non-binary gender identity; 56.4% non-students) from the Greater Seattle-Tacoma Area, Washington, one of the first American states to legalize recreational cannabis. Geolocation data on participants' residences and cannabis use occasions were collected and linked to Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board vendor records. Participants lived near cannabis availability (median 62 vendors within a 10-mile radius; median 0.81 miles to the nearest vendor). Across recorded use occasions over two weekend days, over half occurred at home (59.62%), when participants were alone (66.43%), and most commonly in the evening between 8:00-10:00 pm. Findings offer individual-level evidence of high cannabis retail availability among Black young adults in an urban area, characterize the situational contexts of their use in daily life, and lay the foundation for future research on environmental and personal risk factors driving cannabis-related outcomes in this population.
Source: PsyArXiv (OSF Preprints)
Institution: University of Washington
Language: English
Subfield: Pharmacology (medical)
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7214464527