What Influences Cannabis Purchasing Decisions? Perspectives from Cannabis Retail Employees and Customers in Washington State.

IF 2.7 4区 医学 Q2 PHARMACOLOGY & PHARMACY
Sarah A Okey, Jordan M Arias, Tyler D Watson, Sally L Riggs, Brian D McQuay, Nicholas C Glodosky, Kristen N Haley, Nikki B Meline, Mary B Segawa
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Abstract

Introduction: More adults can legally purchase cannabis in the United States than ever before. However, there is limited understanding as to how cannabis consumers make decisions about what products to purchase. Further insight is needed to guide policies that balance public health with profitable business strategies. Methods: Respondents were cannabis consumers participating in the legal adult-use market in Washington State. They were recruited through flyers posted in cannabis retail stores. Both the online survey and flyer were created by the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board and the Department of Health. Respondents answered questions on demographics, cannabis use patterns, and cannabis retail store employment status. Respondents also rated the importance of 10 different attributes when making a cannabis purchase: company/brand name, strain/cultivar name, production method, cost, tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), cannabidiol or terpene profile, perceived positive effects, perceived negative effects, flavor, and appearance/look. Linear regressions were conducted to predict the importance of each attribute by gender, age, cannabis use patterns, and cannabis retail employee status. Results: There were 437 survey respondents. All respondents were legal adult cannabis users and 137 reported they were employed at a cannabis retail store. Several group differences emerged. For example, cannabis retail employees rated THC concentration as less important (β = -1.67, p < 0.001) but brand name (β = 1.30, p < 0.001) and product appearance (β = 0.81, p = 0.001) as more important than nonretail employees. More frequent users rated cultivar/strain name (β = 0.50, p < 0.001), production method (β = 0.43, p < 0.001), price (β = 0.26 p = 0.01), and product appearance (β = 0.49, p < 0.001) as more important than less frequent users. Conclusions: Differences in purchasing decisions by subgroups have important public health, economic, and policy implications. For example, results showed that retail employees place less emphasis on THC relative to their nonemployee counterparts. If retail employees were to emphasize to customers about the attributes they focus on when purchasing cannabis (e.g., product appearance), this could help redirect market demand away from higher-THC products.

什么影响大麻购买决策?华盛顿州大麻零售员工和顾客的观点。
在美国,比以往任何时候都有更多的成年人可以合法购买大麻。然而,人们对大麻消费者如何决定购买何种产品的了解有限。需要进一步深入了解,以指导平衡公共卫生与有利可图的商业战略的政策。方法:受访者是参与华盛顿州合法成人使用市场的大麻消费者。他们是通过张贴在大麻零售店的传单招募的。在线调查和传单都是由华盛顿州酒类和大麻委员会和卫生部创建的。受访者回答了有关人口统计、大麻使用模式和大麻零售店就业状况的问题。受访者还对购买大麻时10个不同属性的重要性进行了评级:公司/品牌名称、菌株/品种名称、生产方法、成本、四氢大麻酚(THC)、大麻二酚或萜烯概况、感知到的积极影响、感知到的负面影响、味道和外观/外观。进行线性回归,以性别,年龄,大麻使用模式和大麻零售员工状态预测每个属性的重要性。结果:调查对象437人。所有答复者都是合法的成年大麻使用者,137人报告说他们受雇于大麻零售店。出现了几个群体差异。例如,大麻零售员工认为THC浓度不太重要(β = -1.67, p < 0.001),但品牌名称(β = 1.30, p < 0.001)和产品外观(β = 0.81, p = 0.001)比非零售员工更重要。频繁用户认为品种/品系名称(β = 0.50, p < 0.001)、生产方法(β = 0.43, p < 0.001)、价格(β = 0.26 p = 0.01)和产品外观(β = 0.49, p < 0.001)比不频繁用户更重要。结论:亚群体在购买决策上的差异具有重要的公共卫生、经济和政策意义。例如,研究结果显示,与非员工相比,零售员工对四氢大麻酚的重视程度较低。如果零售员工向顾客强调他们在购买大麻时关注的属性(例如,产品外观),这可能有助于将市场需求从高thc产品转移。
本文章由计算机程序翻译,如有差异,请以英文原文为准。
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来源期刊
Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research
Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research PHARMACOLOGY & PHARMACY-
CiteScore
6.80
自引率
7.90%
发文量
164
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