Licensed cannabis retailers are in strict compliance with their state’s minimum age requirements and nearly always deny access to underage patrons. That’s according to compliance check data provided by regulators in California, Colorado, Washington, and several other states.
For example, data recently provided by Washington’s Liquor Control and Cannabis Board (LCB) finds that state-licensed cannabis retailers are more likely than alcohol proprietors to deny those without proper ID entry to their facilities. Since 2015, state regulators have conducted over 7,800 compliance checks of licensed cannabis establishments. (The LCB uses the term “compliance check” to specifically refer to a controlled purchase attempt by a patron between the ages of 18 and 20.) In over 94 percent of cases, minors were denied cannabis access.
During that same period, underage patrons seeking to purchase alcohol products were denied access only 81 percent of the time.
Washington’s data is consistent with that of other legal states. In Colorado, data provided by the state government in 2023 determined that underage operatives are denied access to retail cannabis products 99 percent of the time.
A 2022 inspection study of licensed retailers in California reported that marijuana businesses were “100 percent” compliant with the state’s ID verification policy. Authors of the study concluded, “Underage youth are not obtaining marijuana at licensed recreational outlets.”
Another study, published in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, assessed retailers’ compliance in California, Colorado, and New Mexico. The study’s authors concluded, “Compliance with laws restricting marijuana sales to individuals age 21 years or older with a valid ID was extremely high and possibly higher than compliance with restrictions on alcohol sales.”
Findings provided by point-of-sale audits of randomly selected retailers in Denver, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, and Seattle similarly report near 100 percent compliance with the law.
Commenting on the findings, NORML’s Deputy Director Paul Armentano said: “Regulation works. Illicit marijuana providers don’t ask for or check for ID, but licensed businesses most certainly do. States’ real-world experience with adult-use marijuana legalization affirms that it is being implemented in a way that provides regulated access for adults while simultaneously limiting youth access and misuse.”
Federally funded survey data compiled by the University of Michigan in December reports that marijuana use by adolescents has fallen significantly since states began regulating adult-use cannabis markets and now stands at or near historic lows.
Additional information is available from the NORML Fact Sheet, ‘Societal Impacts of Cannabis Dispensaries/Retailers.’
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