ERA Economics is excited to announce the launch of the California Cannabis Access Map (CCAM), a powerful new tool developed to classify and visualize areas in California with low access to the legal cannabis market.
The California licensed cannabis industry continues to compete with the illicit market, which accounts for more than half of cannabis consumption in the state. What drives the persistence of the illicit market? Fundamentally, it is driven by supply and demand: differences in production costs between licensed and illicit cannabis, and consumer preferences for products and access to the market. We dove into the data to look further into consumer access.
ERA Economics, in partnership with researchers at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, developed the California Cannabis Access Map (CCAM) as a tool to classify and visualize what could be thought of as “Weed Deserts:” areas in California with low access to licensed retail cannabis. The map illustrates how local restrictions (as well as additional taxes and fees) affect consumer access to licensed retailers. It also provides insights into access by demographics, income, and census areas across the state.
The map synthesizes a series of analyses, and one output is classifying what we call Low Income, Low Access and Low Access census tracts across the state. We’re working to expand the analysis to evaluate other factors affecting market access and consumer demand for cannabis.
Key Insights from the Analysis
Some of the preliminary findings include:
- There are significant regional differences in access to the licensed market. Around 30.5% of California’s population lives in a census tract with low access to licensed retail storefronts.
- About 19.9% of the state’s population lives in a tract classified as Low Income, Low Access.
- About 10.6% live in a tract classified as Low Access (but not low income).
- Access is correlated with the illicit market. A statistical analysis using this data and illicit market data found a statistically significant positive correlation between county-level illicit cannabis market share and the percentage of its population with low access. This is empirical evidence of the effect of local access on the illicit market that we intend to explore further.
- Market access varies by income and demographics. Relative to the state average, certain population and income groups have more or less access.
Explore the Map
Click here to learn more about the California Cannabis Access Map! Please contact us if you have any questions or are interested in using the tool.
This work was made possible through a Cannabis Academic Research Grant from the California Department of Cannabis Control.
