TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2023//
TI  - The effect of non-medical cannabis retailer proximity on use of mental health services for psychotic disorders in Ontario, Canada
JO  - International journal of social psychiatry
A1  - Wootten, Jared C.
A1  - Rodrigues, Rebecca
A1  - Gilliland, Jason
A1  - Carter, Brooke
A1  - Shariff, Salimah Z.
A1  - Zhong, Shiran
A1  - Archie, Suzanne
A1  - Edwards, Jordan
A1  - Elton-Marshall, Tara
A1  - Myran, Daniel Thomas
A1  - Palaniyappan, Lena
A1  - Perlman, Christopher M.
A1  - Seabrook, Jamie A.
A1  - Murray, Robin M.
A1  - Anderson, Kelly K.
SP  - ePub
EP  - ePub
VL  - ePub
IS  - ePub
N2  - 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>
LA  - en
SN  - 0020-7640
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/00207640231206053
ID  - ref1
ER  -