Recreational Benefits Research Articles

Recreational Benefits of Consocep Mountain Resort in Tigaon, Camarines Sur, Philippines

The study quantified the recreational benefits of Consocep Mountain Resort for the current and hypothetical improvement of the area. Recreation sites revealed their economic value through the services that they provide. However, these services do not command a price, which leads to an underestimation of their value. The travel cost method is one of the methods for estimating recreational values by converting physical and social benefits into monetary terms. The travel cost method was used to estimate the economic use value of Consocep Mountain Resort in its present condition by using visitors’ actual expenditures. Contingent behavior was added to compute the change in welfare, assuming that an improvement will occur and an additional access fee will be implemented. Given the current site condition of the area, the consumer surplus of a single visit per tourist is PhP 2,136.75 (US$ 41.41), while the consumer surplus for an improved visit is PhP 3,539.82 (US$ 68.60). visitors give high value to the site. Therefore, these information can be used as guide for managing the area. Conservation of resources is also important so that the benefits received by the present population can be enjoyed by generations to come.

The effect of leisure benefits on happiness

Purpose: This study aimed to examine the effect of leisure benefits on happiness. Method: In the study, the “Leisure Benefit Scale” developed by Ho (2008) and adapted in Turkish by Akgül, Karakucuk and Ertüzün (2018) was used to measure the recreational benefit perceptions of the participants. In addition, the “Oxford Happiness Scale”, developed by Hills and Argyle (2002) and adapted into Turkish by Doğan and Akıncı Çötok (2011). Convenience sampling in the selection of the sample and face-to-face survey method was preferred in the collection of data. The analysis of the data was performed through the SPSS program, and descriptive statistics, Pearson Correlation, and Regression analyzes were used. Findings: The research group consisted of 1342 university students, 739 males (55.1%) and 603 females (44.9%), between the ages of 18-25 (21.07±2.24) studying in sports sciences faculties across Turkey. When the results of the analysis were examined, a positive relationship was determined between the leisure benefit perceptions of the participants and their happiness levels. Besides, it was observed that the perception of leisure benefits had a positive effect on happiness. Conclusions: Accordingly, a positive change was detected in happiness levels as the level of benefit perceived by the participants from recreational activities increased.

Demand Analysis of Recreation Visits to Chitral Valley: A Natural Resource Management Perspective

Recreational visits are primarily about human activity which involves travel from an originating area to a destination for cultural, economic, and social exchange processes. People travel to exotic locations for sight seeing, picnicking, bird watching, and for cultural and religious settings. However, accessibility to such areas is often free, which not only results in environmental hazards but also deprives the cash destitute government from revenue that such these sites offer. Valuing the recreational benefits associated with a destination based on tourists’ preferences can help formulate an appropriate policy for Natural Resource Management (NRM). Environmental and natural resource management studies often try to measure the welfare change associated with a policy change. Welfare is generally defined as area under the demand curve; accordingly, by estimating the demand curve, consumer surplus is obtained which shows the welfare changes associated with an environmental policy change [Gunatilake (2003)]. The recreational values thus obtained can be utilised for a cost benefit analysis of a policy option, thereby, managing a park or a natural resource on a sustainable basis.

The Role of Mindfullness in Explaining Recreational Benefit

Bu çalışma üniversite öğrencilerinin bilinçli farkındalık durumlarının rekreasyonel etkinliklerden elde ettikleri fayda düzeylerine etkisinin incelenmesini amaçlamaktadır. Aynı zamanda cinsiyet ve egzersiz türü değişkenlerinin ölçüm araçlarını farklılaştırma durumları da değerlendirilmiştir. Çalışmaya Ankara ilinde rekreatif olarak düzenli egzersiz yapan 155’i (%66.8) kadın, 77’si (%33.2) erkek katılımcı katılmıştır. Veriler demografik bilgi formunun yanı sıra Bilinçli Farkındalık Ölçeği ve Rekreasyon Fayda Ölçeği ile toplanmıştır. Bu araştırma için BF toplam iç tutarlılık katsayısı .89, RF için .85 olarak hesaplanmıştır. Elde edilen bulgular; katılımcıların rekreasyon fayda ve bilinçli farkındalık düzeylerinin ortalamanın üzerinde olduğunu, rekreasyon fayda düzeylerinin fiziksel alt boyutta en yüksek, psikolojik alt boyutta en düşük ortalamaya sahip olduğunu ortaya koymaktadır. Aynı zamanda bulgular cinsiyet ölçüm araçları arasında anlamlı farklılıklar olduğunu, katılımcıların tercih ettiği egzersiz türü ile ölçüm araçları arasında istatistiksel olarak anlamlı farklılık bulunmadığını göstermektedir. Katılımcıların bilinçli farkındalıkları ile rekreasyon fayda düzeyleri arasında düşük düzeyde pozitif yönde bir ilişkinin olduğu, aynı zamanda bilinçli farkındalığın rekreasyon faydayı %5 oranında açıkladığı ifade edilebilir. Sonuç olarak bilinçli farkındalığın artış göstermesiyle rekreasyonel faaliyetlerden elde edilen faydanın da paralel olarak artış göstereceği, özellikle psikolojik ve fiziksel faydanın anlamlı biçimde yordandığı söylenebilir.

Parks, Green Space, and Happiness: A Spatially Specific Sentiment Analysis Using Microblogs in Shanghai, China

Green spaces, particularly urban parks, provide essential environmental, aesthetic, and recreational benefits to human health, well-being, and happiness. However, traditional forms of investigating people’s perceptions of urban parks, such as questionnaires and interviews, are often time- and resource-intensive and do not always yield results that are transferable across sites. In this study, spatially explicit geolocational information (Sina Weibo check-in data) was utilized to analyze expressions of happiness and well-being in urban parks in Shanghai, China. The results showed significant differences in reported happiness inside and outside urban parks in Shanghai over a 6-month period. Accessibility, naturalness factors, and the frequency of park visits were positively associated with happiness. There existed both commonalities and disparities in the results between residents and non-residents. These findings can provide decision makers and urban planners with a comprehensive and timely overview of urban park use so they can accurately identify park needs and improvements.

Rekreasyon Fayda Farkındalığı ve Yaşam Doyum Düzeyi Arasındaki İlişkinin İncelenmesine Yönelik Bir Araştırma

Rekreasyon fayda farkındalığı ve yaşam doyum düzeyi arasındaki ilişkinin incelenmesinin ana amaç olarak belirlendiği bu çalışmada rekreasyon fayda farkındalığı, yaşam doyum düzeyi ve demografik özelliklerin karşılaştırılması ise alt amaçlar olarak belirlenmiştir. Çalışmada birincil verilerin elde edilmesinde nicel veri toplama yöntemlerinden anket kullanılmıştır. Verilerin elde edilmesinde Rekreasyon Fayda Ölçeği ve Yaşam Doyum Ölçeği kullanılmıştır. Çankırı ilinde yaşayan 18-61 yaş aralığındaki bireylerin araştırmanın evrenini oluşturduğu çalışmada, örneklem sayısı 384 olarak belirlenmiştir. Araştırma kapsamında 420 katılımcıya anket uygulanmış, kullanılabilir nitelikte olan 395 adedi değerlendirmeye alınmıştır. Araştırma kapsamında kullanılan verilerin normal dağılım göstermesi sonucunda parametrik analizlerden yararlanılmıştır. Katılımcıların boş zaman etkinlikleri için günlük ayırdıkları süreler ile rekreasyon fayda farkındalığı ve yaşam doyumu arasındaki ilişkinin tespitine yönelik One-Way Anova Analizi, rekreasyon fayda farkındalığının yaşam doyumuna etkisinin belirlenmesi için ise korelasyon analizi kullanılmıştır. Yapılan analizler neticesinde rekreasyon fayda farkındalığı ile cinsiyet ve medeni durum değişkenleri açısından gruplar arasında anlamlı bir farklılığa rastlanmazken, yaşam doyumu ile cinsiyet ve medeni durum açısından gruplar arasında anlamlı bir farklılık olduğu belirlenmiştir. Ayrıca rekreasyon fayda farkındalığı ile yaşam doyumu arasında pozitif yönlü bir ilişki tespit edilmiştir.

Accounting for the recreation benefits of the Flemish Natura 2000 network through landscape preferences and estimated spending

This paper describes the methods used to produce accounts for the recreational value of Natura 2000 areas in Flanders, Belgium. First, a biophysical account of recreation supply and demand is compiled and mapped. Demand is based on data for green visits per year per inhabitant and covers both recreation and nature-based tourism. It distinguishes local walking trips, local cycling, recreation trips with pre-transport and visits by tourists. The number of green visits is based on a combination of yearly statistics (for tourism, day trips) and irregular surveys (for local visits). The supply account is based on modelling predicted visits. The annual visits per inhabitant are attributed to ecosystems using a green visit prediction model that uses the extent and condition accounts related to availability of green-blue areas, accessibility, the attractive potential of landscapes for informal recreation (extent and condition accounts), residence and distance decay functions for different recreation types. Potential destinations include a wide range of green infrastructure, such as parks, forests, natural and agricultural areas and blue spaces (waterside and coastal natural areas). The attractiveness of landscapes is mainly based on an empirical study (choice experiment) in Flanders on people’s preferences for landscape features complemented by evidence from literature. The monetary accounts are preliminary, as there are unsufficient data available for Flanders to estimate the total value for the wide range of recreation types (from local walking and biking to tourism). Especially, data are missing to model travel and time costs for local visits (walking and biking), that account for a large share of total visits in Flanders. It should be noted that, for most visits, apart from nature-based tourism, valuation cannot be based on income fees or parking costs because, in Flanders, visits and parking are free. As unsufficient data are avaible to estimate travel and time costs in detail, we used Flemish data on average expenditure per visit per recreational type as a proxy. We discuss the limits of this preliminary approach and suggest further steps. In the results session, we discuss the implementation of the model to estimate the predicted visits to parts of the Natura2000 areas in Flanders in 2016 and 2018. As different land-uses are strongly interwoven in Flanders, these areas include a wide range of different land-uses and also areas close to residence used for local walking and biking. The differences between 2016 and 2018 illustrate how the model of predicted visits allows us to cope with land-use changes and improved quality and attractiveness of the landscapes in Natura2000 areas.

Quantifying impacts of human pressures on ecosystem services: Effects of widespread non-indigenous species in the Baltic Sea

Ecosystem services (ES) are the benefits natural ecosystems provide to society, such as food provisioning, water supply, climate regulation and recreational benefits. Biological invasions are a major driver of global change, and several non-indigenous species (NIS) may alter key ecological feedbacks with ultimate consequences to ES, livelihoods and human wellbeing. Nonetheless, the effects of NIS on ES supply remain largely unquantified. Here we present the first quantitative case study assessing the impacts of widespread NIS on ES in the Baltic Sea, by developing and employing a robust and repeatable data-driven approach. All NIS with a sufficient knowledge base pose large and highly significant effects on ES, resulting on average 55 % change in the intensity of ES. Most impacts affected regulation services, concerning both abiotic and biotic realms, with little evidence on cultural and provisioning services. The methodology can be easily employed beyond the current study realm e.g. to better understand the roles of human pressures on ES in any ecosystem. Importantly, the study also identified major biases not only in the availability of taxonomic and sub-regional evidence, but also in the different study types employed to create the evidence base.

National Forest Visitation Preferences and Avenues to Participation for Urban Hispanic Recreationists in the Portland Metropolitan Area (USA)

Abstract Health benefits of outdoor recreation have been broadly demonstrated and land managers recognize the equity implications of providing safe and inclusive outdoor spaces. Data on public lands visitation and outdoor participation show that Hispanic recreationists are less likely to engage in outdoor leisure than White persons. Early studies of outdoor preferences of Hispanic persons identified a desire for large-group settings and social activities. To update our understanding of outdoor recreation needs, preferences, and constraints, we collaborated with a Latinx organization in Portland, Oregon (USA). We collaboratively designed three focus groups that combined structured engagement, cognitive sorting, and participatory mapping to elicit desired outdoor activities and settings and identify constraints and opportunities. Results suggest that urban Hispanic recreationists seek a variety of human-powered, motorized, and contemplative outdoor activities and gravitate toward familiar settings. Predominant barriers relate to a lack of experience with outdoor activities and gear and lack of exposure to public land settings. Study Implications: Early studies about Hispanic outdoor participation emphasized preferences for social activities in group settings. Urban Hispanic recreationists in our study sought a diversity of human-powered, motorized, and contemplative outdoor activities. Guided group outings and Spanish-language materials were identified as steps to increase participation. Barriers included a lack of awareness of prospective recreation sites, the absence of recreation partners, and unfamiliarity with outdoor gear. Agencies seeking to enhance access may gain the greatest efficiencies by enabling guided group events providing gear, instruction, and companionship. Outreach efforts in Spanish detailing information about setting and safety features would be well received.

Welfare effect of substitute sites for coastal recreation – evidence from the Baltic Sea

ABSTRACT Omission of substitute sites in travel cost analysis can cause an overestimation of recreational benefits. Only few analyses have included substitutes, partly because of the difficulty in defining an appropriate set of substitutes. We examine factors affecting the existence of substitutes and their impact on the demand and value of coastal recreation using spatially-referenced survey data from Finland, Germany and Latvia on recreational visits to the Baltic Sea, which can be characterized as a unique destination. Substitutes are defined by respondents themselves. Our findings indicate that the existence and effects of substitute sites differ across countries. Many respondents have no substitutes for Baltic Sea recreation, in particular in Latvia. Respondent and visit-specific factors explain the probability of having substitutes. Substitutes reduce the demand for coastal recreation in Finland and Germany but increase it in Latvia. Further, respondents having substitutes are less sensitive to travel costs in Germany and more sensitive in Finland and Latvia. The annual welfare from Baltic Sea recreation is lower for people who have substitutes in Finland and Germany, and higher in Latvia. The findings suggest that uniform assumptions about the existence and effects of substitutes appear unwarranted, especially for sites of unique or iconic nature.

Featured Collection Introduction: Severe Sustained Drought Revisited: Managing the Colorado River System in Times of Water Shortage 25 Years Later — Part I

Featured Collection Introduction: Severe Sustained Drought Revisited: Managing the Colorado River System in Times of Water Shortage 25 Years Later — Part I

A comparative analysis of the value of recreation in six contrasting Nordic landscapes using the travel cost method

Nordic landscapes provide recreational benefits to local, national, and international visitors. Nordic countries are, however, actively promoting a green shift towards the bioeconomy (that is, an intensification of agriculture and forestry), which may come at the cost of other benefits of Nordic landscapes, such as recreation. Information on recreational benefits and their monetary value is therefore required to outline a more comprehensive bioeconomy policy. For this paper, we estimated the benefits associated with the recreational use of six contrasting landscapes from four Nordic countries in their current environmental conditions, using a travel cost model, with data from a standardised survey of inhabitants and visitors. We found a large variation in the monetary estimates of the current annual recreational benefits from these landscapes, with a variation from 3.1 to 120.8 million € per landscape. We found that different characteristics of these landscapes, such as the visitor structure and visitors’ perceptions of the environmental quality, influence the estimated recreational value. Among the environmental characteristics we tested, we found that water quality and the proportion of nature conservation areas influence the recreational benefits, and need to be considered when making land use and management decisions. Furthermore, it is important that a sustainable bioeconomy policy is developed and implemented in such a way that the potentially negative effects of intensified agriculture and forestry on recreational possibilities are avoided.

Timeshare. Prawo periodycznego świadczenia wypoczynkowego – geneza i przedmiot prawa

The right to periodic holiday benefits, normatively referred to as timeshare, still remains a legal construction requiring legal analysis, which concerns, for instance, bringing It is important for the right of periodical recreation benefit to be defined incorrectly both doctrinally and normatively, what additionally justifies the consolidation of correct definition of the right of periodical recreation benefit, what concerns placing the right of periodical recreation benefit in the area of obligation.

The recreational value of botanic garden events: A case study of the Zagara plant fair in Palermo, Italy

Botanic gardens are defined by their mission to maintain living plant collections for scientific research, conservation, display and education. This mission represents the potential ecosystem services that botanic gardens aim to produce, with display and education specifically regarding recreational ecosystem services (RES). Visitors must directly experience botanic gardens to transform these potential RES into real benefits, yet the public may not be interested in studying plants during their leisure time. Thus, botanic gardens turn to events to attract visitors. The objective of this study is to estimate the RES benefits created by a botanic garden event and profile the visitors that it brings into the garden. To do so, a questionnaire was distributed at the Zagara plant festival, held in Spring 2021 at the Palermo University Botanic Garden in Sicily (Italy). Respondents are local, young to middle-aged, mostly female, well-educated, upper to middle class and not accompanying children. Most came to the Zagara to observe, admire or purchase plants. Through the zonal Travel Cost Method (TCM), visitors' marginal consumer surplus is estimated to be 6.16 € and the event's total recreational value is estimated to be 26,464.21 €. The study took place during the second year of the COVID-19 pandemic and responses also indicate that the Zagara filled consequential visitor needs for outdoor social occasions. This study contributes to the literature on RES benefit valuation by applying the well-accepted TCM to the unexplored subject of special events in botanic gardens with the aim of supporting management decisions. • Botanic gardens are defined by their living plant collections, yet they are also important for human wellbeing; • Events bring many visitors into botanic gardens, and are responsible for creating social benefits in the form of recreational ecosystem services; • Garden managers often lack the resources to carry out complicated valuation procedures, but online survey and mapping platforms have made the zonal travel cost method a direct way to estimate the recreational benefits produced by an event, and understand who benefits; • Such valuations are necessary for gardens to plan events to increase social welfare, optimize ecosystem services and improve inclusiveness.

Uncertainty, anxiety, and optimism: Diverse perspectives of rainbow and steelhead trout fisheries governance in British Columbia

Inland fisheries are complex social-ecological systems that can generate important nutritional, economic, cultural, and recreational benefits. Effective management of these systems for multiple user-groups requires an understanding of the complex natural and human dimensions interactions within them. We examine the perceptions of stakeholders, Indigenous rightsholders, and regulatory/governance groups on the current and future status of Oncorhynchus mykiss (including their resident form – rainbow trout – and their anadromous form – steelhead) populations and fisheries in British Columbia (BC), Canada from 65 qualitative interviews and 1029 quantitative survey responses. Participants generally did not believe resident rainbow trout were threatened at the provincial level but were definitive in assessing anadromous steelhead trout as threatened. Habitat alterations, water temperature extremes, and climate change, were key threats identified for all forms of O. mykiss while bycatch in commercial fisheries and predation pressure from pinnipeds were specifically identified threats for steelhead trout. Anglers did not perceive recreational fishing pressure as a key threat in contrast to regulatory and governance groups. Fisheries managers were praised for stocking programs and managing small lakes fisheries but criticized for not doing enough to protect fish populations, for an unwillingness to challenge or confront commercial and Indigenous interests which infringe on conservation, and for a lack of aquatic monitoring. Three factors identified by participants contribute to fishery mismanagement, inaction, and decision paralysis: (1) insufficient resources (funding, staff, time), (2) confusion in jurisdictional authority between provincial and federal governments, and (3) organizational structure of natural resource management agencies which are not autonomous from competing commercial and industrial objectives and directions. Despite conservation being purported as the highest priority of fisheries managers, economic, social, and political drivers are perceived as increasingly influencing conservation decisions and actions. These findings can inform fisheries management and conservation decisions, policies and practices to ensure that they are more salient, robust, legitimate, and effective.

Willingness to pay for ecosystem benefits of green stormwater infrastructure in Chinese sponge cities

Globally, green stormwater infrastructure (GSI) has been adopted to address urban flash flooding and stormwater pollution and provide additional ecosystem benefits such as recreation, education, and aesthetics to urban communities. However, there has been a lack of research on people's preferences for different ecosystem benefits, making it challenging to understand synergies and trade-offs among co-benefits and optimize GSI planning and design. Additionally, urban stormwater management programs commonly face long-term financial challenges, demanding research that investigates the feasibility of public utility programs. This study fills these gaps in a Chinese context by employing a discrete choice experiment (DCE) to compare public preferences and estimate the monetary values of four GSI benefits, including stormwater quantity and quality treatment, educational benefit, aesthetics, and recreational benefits, in four small-to-medium pilot sponge cities. Results show that respondents preferred some kinds of GSI programs to a conventional lawn space in their living environments, and they had significant willingness to pay (WTP) for GSI programs to obtain educational ($14.8 per household per year, p < 0.001) and recreational benefits ($10.8 per household per year, p < 0.001). Stormwater treatment, as the environmental benefit prioritized by governmental agencies, however, did not generate a significant willingness to pay in any studied cities. Residents also showed indifference towards three different planting aesthetic styles (i.e., formal vs. mixed vs. naturalistic). We conclude that providing social-oriented benefits such as education and recreation is more likely to garner urban residents' financial support for GSI development in the chosen sponge cities. While stormwater utility can be a viable funding source to supplement urban stormwater management programs, people's WTP remains limited, and other financial mechanisms need to be explored.

Beyond green environments: Multi-scale difference in human exposure to greenspace in China.

Greenspace exposure metrics can allow for comparisons of green space supply across time, space, and population groups, and for inferring patterns of variation in opportunities for people to enjoy the health and recreational benefits of nearby green environments. A better understanding of greenspace exposure differences across various spatial scales is a critical requirement for lessening environmental health disparities. However, existing studies are typically limited to a single city or across selected cities, which severely limits the use of results in measuring systemic national and regional scale differences that might need policy at above individual city planning level. To close this knowledge gap, our study aims to provide a holistic assessment of multi-scale greenspace exposure across provinces, cities, counties, towns, and land parcels for the whole of China. We mapped the nationwide fractional greenspace coverage at 10m with Sentinel-2 satellite imagery, and then modeled population-weighted greenspace exposure to examine variation of greenspace exposure across scales. Our results show a prominent scaling effect of greenspace exposure across multi-scale administrative divisions in China, suggesting, as expected, an increase in heterogeneity with finer spatial scales. We also identify an asymmetric pattern of the difference between greenspace exposure and greenspace coverage, across a geo-demographic demarcation boundary (i.e., along the Heihe-Tengchong Line). In general, the greenspace coverage rate will overestimate more realistic human exposure to greenspace in East China while underestimating in West China. We further found that, in China, more recently urbanized areas have much better greenspace exposure than older urban areas. Our study provides a spatially explicit greenspace exposure metric for discovering multi-scale greenspace exposure difference, which will enhance governments' capacity to quantify environmental justice, detect vulnerable greenspace exposure risk hotspots, prioritize greenspace management at the supra-city scale, and monitor the balance between greenspace supply and demand.

Health and Happiness: The Upshot of Recreational Activities for Elderly People

Recreational activities can meet a range of needs for elderly people as well as people of all ages, creating good health and happiness. Increased health and fitness are key benefits of recreation for the elderly population. Activities provide opportunities for socializing, utilizing skills and abilities earned over their lives, and learning new skills. The aims of this review were to emphasize the relevance of leisure activities for elderly people, aging and quality of life, leisure activities and physical health, leisure activities and well-being, mental health and well-being, and leisure and social connectedness. A literature review was conducted on several published peer-reviewed journal articles, but only articles from 2015–2021 and those written in the English language were considered for inclusion in this study. Researchers searched Google Scholar, Microsoft Academic, ProQuest, PLoS One, Cochrane Library, JSTOR, Microsoft Academic databases, and Pubmed for information. Several articles were related to the subject, but only a few text articles were used for this review. According to the reviewed articles, the studies pointed to the fact that elderly and agedpeople should be encouraged to participate in recreational activities throughout their lives to maintain and improve their health.

Experiences in outdoor recreation among individuals with developmental disabilities: Benefits, constraints, and facilitators

ABSTRACT Background Individuals with developmental disabilities have specific physical and psychosocial needs that can require extra support to participate fully in and enjoy many benefits of recreation activities. Unfortunately, little is known about individuals with developmental disabilities' experiences in outdoor recreation. The purpose of this study was to explore adults with developmental disabilities’ perceived benefits of outdoor recreation, and the constraints or facilitators that affected their participation. Method Qualitative, semi-structured interviews were conducted with seven adults with developmental disabilities. Interviews were analysed using open, axial, and selective coding techniques. Results Results revealed three themes: (a) benefits of; (b) constraints to; and (c) facilitators of outdoor recreation. Benefits of outdoor recreation reported by study participants included their experiencing satisfaction, mental reprieve, empowerment, enlightenment, social connectedness, and thrill. Participants also shared intrapersonal, interpersonal, and structural constraints and facilitators related to their outdoor recreation participation. Conclusions Practical implications and future research recommendations are discussed.

Clouded Motives and Pharmacological Calvinism: How Recreational Use of a Drug Affects Moral Judgments of Its Medical Use

While many drugs are used exclusively for medical reasons, and others are used solely for recreation, some drugs are commonly used for both purposes. For example, cannabis, opioids, benzodiazepines, and stimulants are unique in many ways, but they share the fact that they are regularly consumed both medicinally and recreationally. However, it is not clear how the existence of recreational markets for substances affects moral judgments of their medical use. The current work shows that using a drug for medical reasons is viewed as less morally acceptable if other consumers use the same drug for recreation. This effect emerges because observers infer that medical users are less purely motivated by medical need. Accordingly, the negative effect of recreational drug use on moral judgments of its medical use is mitigated when patients do not have alternative treatment options. These findings have implications for patient stigmatization, drug marketing and lobbying, and policy and legislation designed to regulate the use of medical drugs with recreational benefits.