While a range of sources exist for marijuana users to acquire marijuana for medical or personal use, prior research on marijuana sources primarily focused on single sources. In this analysis, we longitudinally examined characteristics of multiple sources selected by marijuana users, motivations to use sources, and how a blend of marijuana sources accommodated users' needs. Young adult marijuana users (n=60) in Los Angeles, CA, where marijuana has been legal for medical use since 1996, completed two annual qualitative interviews on marijuana use practices and sources between 2014 and 2016. Approximately two-thirds were medical marijuana patients and one-third were non-patient users. Participants reported acquiring marijuana from the following primary sources across two interviews: dispensaries and delivery services, private sellers in the illicit market, friends and family, and marijuana events/conferences. While patients with legal medical access to marijuana typically purchased marijuana from dispensaries or delivery services, they often supplemented from other illicit sources. Non-patients often accessed marijuana through dispensary diversion but also other sources. As patients became non-patients and vice versa during the study period, source type changed too. Broad access to marijuana via legal and illicit sources in this sample is indicative of societal trends towards normalization of marijuana use.

Becoming a medical marijuana user was an important career trajectory that was influenced by early discoveries of effective medicinal use, interaction with proponents of medical use at dispensaries, experiences with new kinds of medical use, and the demands of particular health condition requiring more or less treatment with marijuana.

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Background: While tobacco and alcohol studies have focused on density of outlets as a determinant of consumption, research has begun examining the effects of medical marijuana (MM) dispensaries on marijuana use.Objectives: Examine the relationship between density of MM dispensaries and frequency of marijuana use among young adult medical marijuana patients (MMP) and non-patient users (NPU).Methods: Young adult marijuana users (n=329) aged 18-26 years old were sampled in Los Angeles in 2014-15 and separated into MMP (n=198) and NPU (n=131). In 2014, 425 operational MM dispensaries were identified within the City of Los Angeles. Sequential multilevel Poisson random effect models examined density of MM dispensaries per square mile and 90-day marijuana use among MMP and NUP at the ZIP code level while controlling for demographic, behavioral, and community characteristics.Results: Density of MM dispensaries was not related to 90-day use of marijuana (days of use or hits per day) among either MMP or NPU. MMP reported significantly greater days of marijuana

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