The Impacts of Potency, Warning Messages, and Price on Preferences for Marijuana Products
Discussant: Kimberly Groover
Design. An online discrete choice experiment was implemented in the US in October 2017. Each respondent was randomly assigned to 12 choice scenarios, each asking them to choose 1 out of 3 marijuana products with varying levels in the 4 attributes. The probability of choosing marijuana products was analyzed using nested logit regressions.
Participants. An online sample of 2,400 adults aged 21 years or older, consisting of 1,200 past-year marijuana nonusers and 1,200 past-year marijuana users. State of residence was restricted to 6 states (California, Colorado, Massachusetts, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington) that had legalized recreational marijuana by 2017.
Measures. Hypothetical purchase choices of marijuana products.
Results. Among both marijuana users and nonusers, relative to CBD free, low CBD level (0.4% CBD) increased the probability of choosing marijuana products by 24-28% (p<.001) and high CBD level (15% CBD) increased the probability by 120% (p<.001); higher price was associated with lower probability of choosing marijuana products (p<.001). Higher THC level increased the probability among users (p<.001) but had no impact on nonusers. Compared to no warning message, text warning message increased the probability of choosing marijuana products by 8% among users (p<.05) and the FDA not-approved disclaimer reduced the probability by 12% among nonusers (p<.001). Subgroup analyses among users by reason of use suggested that, those using marijuana primarily for medical reason were the only subgroup unresponsive to THC but were most responsive to CBD.
Conclusion. For adults living in states with recreational marijuana legalization, taxes that raise price and warning messages that emphasize no approval from the FDA have potential to deter marijuana initiation or resumption, and THC limits and taxes have potential to reduce recreational marijuana purchase among users.