@article{ref1,
title="The effect of non-medical cannabis retailer proximity on use of mental health services for psychotic disorders in Ontario, Canada",
journal="International journal of social psychiatry",
year="2023",
author="Wootten, Jared C. and Rodrigues, Rebecca and Gilliland, Jason and Carter, Brooke and Shariff, Salimah Z. and Zhong, Shiran and Archie, Suzanne and Edwards, Jordan and Elton-Marshall, Tara and Myran, Daniel Thomas and Palaniyappan, Lena and Perlman, Christopher M. and Seabrook, Jamie A. and Murray, Robin M. and Anderson, Kelly K.",
volume="ePub",
number="ePub",
pages="ePub-ePub",
abstract="BACKGROUND: Cannabis is associated with the onset and persistence of psychotic disorders. Evidence suggests that accessibility of substances is associated with an increased risk of use-related harms. We sought to examine the effect of residing in proximity to non-medical cannabis retailers on the prevalence of health service use for psychosis. <br><br>METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional study using linked health administrative data, and used geospatial analyses to determine whether people in Ontario, Canada (aged 14-60 years) resided within walking (1.6 km) or driving (5.0 km) distance of non-medical cannabis retailers (open as of February-2020). We identified outpatient visits, emergency department (ED) visits, and hospitalizations for psychotic disorders between 01-April-2019 and 17-March-2020. We used zero-inflated Poisson regression models and gamma generalized linear models to estimate the association between cannabis retailer proximity and indicators of health service use. <br><br>RESULTS: Non-medical cannabis retailers were differentially located in areas with high levels of marginalization and pre-existing health service use for psychosis. People residing within walking or driving distance of a cannabis retailer had a higher rate of psychosis-related outpatient visits, ED visits, and hospitalizations, compared to people living outside these areas. This effect was stronger among those with no prior service use for psychosis. <br><br>CONCLUSIONS: Proximity to a non-medical cannabis retailer was associated with higher health service use for psychosis, even after adjustment for prior health service use. These findings suggest that opening of non-medical cannabis retailers could worsen the burden of psychosis on mental health services in areas with high-risk populations.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="0020-7640",
doi="10.1177/00207640231206053",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/00207640231206053"
}