Living in the Emerald Triangle: Relationship Between Teen Marijuana Use and Living in Areas of High Marijuana Cultivation

Introduction: According to law enforcement sources, over 70% of the marijuana grown in North America is grown in California. In particular, Humboldt, Mendocino and Trinity Counties, also known as the Emerald Triangle, are known for marijuana cultivation. It is estimated that there are over 4,000 marijuana grows in Humboldt County alone. This study explores whether living in areas known for marijuana cultivation is related to teens’ marijuana use and related beliefs.

Methods: Survey data collected between 2003 and 2012 from 1,533,151 students (9^th & 11^th graders) in California schools were analyzed. The data were collected as part of the California Healthy Kids Survey (CHKS), a biennial survey funded by the California Department of Education which is designed to assess youth health risk behaviors and resilience. The CHKS includes demographics and questions about alcohol, tobacco, and other drug (AOD) use. The cross-sectional (2011-2012) and longitudinal data (2003-2012) were analyzed using regression analyses.

Results: 29,030 of respondents attended schools in the three counties known as the Emerald Triangle. In 2011-2012, 41% of students in the Emerald Triangle reported lifetime and 25% reported 30 day use compared to 33% and 19% of students living outside this area. Respondents in the Emerald Triangle also reported easier access to marijuana, and lower perceived harm from using marijuana than students living outside this area. Regression models indicate that parental attitudes towards youth AOD use and perceived ease of access to marijuana account for the difference in use and related beliefs when comparing students living in the three counties and those who do not. Longitudinal analysis revealed that marijuana use among teens living in the Emerald Triangle increased more rapidly than for students living outside that region. Furthermore, the gap between marijuana related beliefs, such as perceptions of how many other students have tried marijuana and how much harm is associated with marijuana use widened over time between teens living in the Emerald Triangle and those living in other areas of the state. The accelerated increase in these changes aligns with increases in marijuana cultivation in recent years.

Conclusion: Teens living in areas of high marijuana cultivation are more likely to use marijuana, use it more frequently, perceive it to be less harmful, and perceive use by peers to be more common than teens living in other areas. Perceived ease of access to marijuana and perceived lenient parental attitudes towards marijuana use may account for these differences. Environments in which there are extensive marijuana grow operations may normalize marijuana and marijuana use.