Using publicly available data to predict recreational cannabis legalization at the county-level: A machine learning approach.

ABSTRACT:

Background

There is substantial geographic variability in local cannabis policies within states that have legalized recreational cannabis. This study develops an interpretable machine learning model that uses county-level population demographics, sociopolitical factors, and estimates of substance use and mental illness prevalences to predict the legality of recreational cannabis sales within each U.S. county.

Methods

We merged data and selected 14 model inputs from the 2010 Census, 2012 County Presidential Data from the MIT Elections Lab, and Small Area Estimates from the National Surveys on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) from 2010 to 2012 at the county level. County policies were labeled as having recreational cannabis legal (RCL) if the sale of recreational cannabis was allow

SUBMITTER: Montgomery BW 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11031282 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature