The Effects of Community Type on the Use and Availability of Marijuana among Illinois Adults

Abstract

Previous research on adult marijuana use shows that younger adults, males, unmarried persons, and adults with higher education have the highest usage rates. National studies on adult drug use, furthermore, report that marijuana use is highest in large metropolitan areas. As Fischer (1976) points out, however, younger, unmarried, better educated adults tend to live in large urban centers. Thus, the effects of living in large cities on marijuana use may be an artifact of the demographic composition of large urban areas as suggested by proponents of the compositionalist theory of urban behavior (Fischer, 1976). Using data from a statewide survey of Illinois adults, the effects of community type on ever use, current use, and the availability of marijuana are examined. Logistic multiple regression analyses are used to examine the effects of community type on these use and availability variables after controlling the effects of the socio-demographic characteristics of the adults. The results lend support to Fischer's (1975; 1976) subcultural theory of behavior for both the use and the availability of marijuana.