Daniel Council

The sale of legal, recreational cannabis is a new and emerging market. Dispensaries are opening rapidly as more states legalize the substance, creating a need for research into their geographic distribution and the impact of policy, which varies by state and municipality. This research uses the city of Chicago, Illinois, as a case study to examine the spatial distribution of cannabis dispensaries and aims to understand the demographic makeup of their trade areas by aggregating numerous census variables. Furthermore, it asks the questions: are the populations living within trade areas different from those outside? Can dispensaries in Chicago be classified by their trade areas? To answer these questions, statistical methods including comparing means and cluster analysis are used in addition to methods that employed Geographic Information Systems (GIS), with findings revealing a striking divide in dispensary coverage favoring the city’s north side. Additionally, demographic differences were noted when comparing the demographics of trade areas to other geographies. It is vital that spatial research into this topic is continued as the cannabis industry is rapidly growing and impacted by changes in policy.