In the bustling streets of New York City, the proliferation of cannabis outlets has not gone unnoticed by researchers at Columbia University. A recent study spearheaded by Dr. Ryan Sultàn, an assistant professor of clinical psychiatry at the institution, discovered a worrying trend. Despite state laws requiring buyers to be at least 21 years of age, many unlicensed dispensaries seldom perform ID checks, offering easy access to cannabis for underage individuals. "I actually think a lot of parents would be surprised," Sultàn told NBC New York.

According to the study findings, reported by NBC New York, approximately 90 percent of unlicensed cannabis retailers in New York City neglected to check IDs at the doors. Going undercover, research assistant Peter Menzi, who is 22, visited a representative sample of these stores, uncovering less than half conducted any age verification at the point of sale, suggesting underage buyers aren't meeting much resistance as they should be when looking to purchase marijuana.

The New York State Office of Cannabis Management is said to consider enforcement against such negligence pivotal. "We take any violations seriously and will investigate and take appropriate action against any retailer found failing to properly ID customers," spokesperson Taylor Randi Lee stated to NBC New York. Despite the rules, a state-licensed store, KushKlub, was also caught on undercover camera selling pot to an intern without age verification.

Moving to address these findings, a Columbia University report detailed the stance that regulation is pivotal, particularly because early cannabis use is linked to developmental challenges and addiction risk. Licensed dispensaries were found to be markedly more compliant, verifying customer ages 100% of the time compared to just 10% of the unlicensed outlets. Co-author of the study, Timothy Becker, noted, "We also found that less than half of the unlicensed outlets verified age anywhere along the purchase journey, and most of these outlets also sold nicotine products, energy drinks, soda, and candy and used cartoon signage."

"The biggest concern I always have for youth with cannabis is the set-up for sort of re-wiring their brain toward a brain that is more prone to addiction in the future," Sultàn remarked in the NBC New York article.