Characteristics and effects of cannabis advertisements with appeal to youth in California

IF 4.4 2区医学 Q1 SUBSTANCE ABUSE

International Journal of Drug Policy Pub Date : 2025-02-10 DOI:10.1016/j.drugpo.2025.104718

Alisa A. Padon , Dara G. Ghahremani , Bethany Simard , Aurash J. Soroosh , Lynn D. Silver

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Background

California boasts the largest regulated cannabis market in the world, but it is increasingly exposing youth to cannabis marketing, and the state's definition of content appealing to youth is vague. We aimed to identify the specific features of California cannabis ads that increase interest in cannabis use among adolescents to inform reasonably restrictive marketing policy.

Methods

Participants consisted of 409 youth (age 16–20 years) susceptible to using cannabis in the future and living in California. Using an online experiment, participants were randomly assigned to view cannabis ads with and without features previously shown to be appealing to adolescents, followed by questions about attitudes toward the ad and their interest in using the advertised cannabis product or service. Multivariable regressions tested associations of content features with these outcomes.

Results

Several features were significantly associated with increasing youth interest in cannabis use and attitudes toward the ad following ad exposure, including illustration, clear product descriptions, food or flavor references, depictions of positive sensations, adventure, psychoactive effects, and references to heavy consumption.

Conclusion

California cannabis ads contain features that appeal to youth and that are not restricted in California or other U.S. states with legal cannabis retail.

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来源期刊

International Journal of Drug Policy SUBSTANCE ABUSE-

CiteScore

7.80

自引率

11.40%

发文量

307

审稿时长

62 days

期刊介绍： The International Journal of Drug Policy provides a forum for the dissemination of current research, reviews, debate, and critical analysis on drug use and drug policy in a global context. It seeks to publish material on the social, political, legal, and health contexts of psychoactive substance use, both licit and illicit. The journal is particularly concerned to explore the effects of drug policy and practice on drug-using behaviour and its health and social consequences. It is the policy of the journal to represent a wide range of material on drug-related matters from around the world.