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Background: Several have claimed that the overreliance on benzodiazepines for many approved and off-label uses poses substantial human and social consequences comparable to those observed with the opioid epidemic. In light of these problems, alternatives are required to properly manage patients. Numerous states now permit the use of medical cannabis to treat conditions, such as chronic pain, that were traditionally treated with benzodiazepines, opioids, or both. As patients and physicians seek alternative treatments, little is known about whether the presence of cannabis laws helps to alleviate the burdens caused by these more traditional medications owing to the displacement of benzodiazepines and/or opioids toward cannabis. Methods: Using data from multiple years of the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (2017, 2018, 2019), the effect of Medical Marijuana Laws (MMLs) on benzodiazepine and/or opioid use and misuse is examined while controlling for a variety of demographic characteristics. Supplemental analysis also is performed including the 2020 and 2021 survey years. Results: MMLs did not affect lone, legitimate benzodiazepine usage, but lower use of opioids and combinations of benzodiazepines and opioids was observed. MMLs appear to help attenuate benzodiazepine and/or opioid misuse to a substantial degree. Additional results suggest that the presence of an MML was related to annual, varying decreases in the use and misuse of benzodiazepines, opioids, and their combination across the years of data evaluated. Conclusions: MMLs may serve to attenuate the consequences of benzodiazepine, opioid, and their combined use and/or misuse to varying degrees. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The role of the physical and social environment as a catalyst for criminal activity has become prominent in recent years as an issue deserving scholarly attention. More specifically, several scholars have investigated the relationship between environmental factors and convenience store robbery. This study adds a dimension to previous empirical research by assessing, through multivariate statistical methods, whether the physical features and surrounding demographics of 30 randomly sampled convenience stores in Leon County, Florida, signifantly affect the vulnerability of those stores to robbery. Results show that environmental factors are not important predictors of whether a convenience store is robbed, but parking lot size, degree of social disorganization surrounding the store, number of hours open, and whether gasoline service is provided are significant in determining the severity of robbery. These findings suggest that offenders may not be uniform in their determination of what consitutes vulnerability. The implications of these findings for primary prevention strategies are discussed.

Dwelling in a violence-plagued neighborhood may amplify obesity by engendering psychological distress or by cultivating a sedentary, homebound lifestyle. This relationship is speculated to be especially relevant for black and Hispanic citizens because they are much more likely than whites to live in violence-beleaguered neighborhoods. Results from two multilevel analyses of 12,645 residents living in 34 New York City neighborhoods show that, while the violent crime rate does not have a direct effect on obesity, it does condition the relationships between race, ethnicity, and obesity. As the violent crime rate rises in a neighborhood, the probability of both a black and Hispanic resident being obese increases, controlling for both individual and neighborhood factors. The BMI of black and Hispanic residents is also higher in neighborhoods beset by violence. These findings suggest that violent crime may be a salient but unappreciated factor in explaining both racial and ethnic differences in obesity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]