Many online marijuana dispensaries do not enforce age limits on purchases, and they have other lax policies that enable minors to buy cannabis on the internet, according to a new study published on Monday in The Journal of the American Medical Association Pediatrics.

The Numbers

The research examined the age-verification policies and other practices of 80 online dispensaries, based in 32 states, that sell marijuana to American customers.

The study found that 18.8 percent of dispensaries, or nearly one in five, “required no formal age verification at any stage of the purchasing process.” And that more than 80 percent accepted “nontraceable” payment methods, like prepaid cards or cash, thus “enabling youth to hide their transactions,” the authors noted.

Of the dispensaries studied, nearly one-third allowed delivery across state lines — and of those, 95 percent offered delivery to states with marijuana laws different from the home state of the online dispensary. Five percent of the dispensaries provided student discounts.

The Context

Health officials have expressed concerns about the effects of marijuana use on the developing brain, particularly in an era of increased drug potency and widespread legalization. According to a 2022 survey funded by the National Institutes of Health, 6.3 percent of 12th graders reported using cannabis daily in 2021, as did 2.1 percent of 10th graders and 0.7 percent of eighth graders. [Read More @ The NY Times]