Since the passage of California Proposition 64 (Adult Use of Marijuana Act) in 2016, many community residents – especially parents and business owners – have expressed concerns about cannabis/marijuana smoking in public places in Los Angeles County (LAC). In response, LAC Department of Public Health Substance Abuse Prevention and Control (SAPC) implemented the countywide Cannabis/Marijuana Public Smoking Initiative (CPSI/MPSI) to document the prevalence and issues of cannabis/marijuana smoking in shared spaces (e.g., apartments, parks, businesses, and schools) across LAC and to engage community stakeholders in the development of data-driven community prevention strategies that prevent, reduce, eliminate, or identify alternatives to cannabis/marijuana public smoking.

The CPSI/MPSI Workgroup, which is led by SAPC Health Outcomes and Data Analytics (HODA) Division in collaboration with the SAPC Community and Youth Engagement Unit and SAPC-contracted community prevention service providers, worked closely together to develop and conduct the CPSI/MPSI survey to accomplish the following objectives:

• Assessment: Document the prevalence of cannabis/marijuana smoking in shared spaces (e.g., multi-unit housing, parks, business/schools, etc.) since the passage of Proposition 64.
• Capacity Building: Mobilize concerned community stakeholders to prioritize survey findings and capacity building by raising awareness and educating about the provisions of Proposition 64 including cannabis/marijuana public smoking.
• Planning and Implementation: Work collectively to develop and implement data-driven community prevention initiatives, strategies, and/or policies to prevent and reduce cannabis/marijuana public smoking.
• Evaluate the entire process (assessment, capacity building, planning, implementing) to identify other opportunities and measure impact.