ArticleJMIR mHealth and uHealth2015
Cannabis Mobile Apps: A Content Analysis.
Article in JMIR mHealth and uHealth, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 26 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
26 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 45 citations in OpenAlex.
- Smartphone Apps Targeting Alcohol and Illicit Substance Use: Systematic Search in in Commercial App Stores and Critical Content Analysis.JMIR mHealth and uHealth · 2019Pooled it
- Acceptability, Feasibility, and Outcome Responsiveness of the Joint Effort Mobile App for Promoting Lower-Risk Cannabis Use Among Young Adults: Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial.JMIR mHealth and uHealth · 2026Trial
- Smartphone Apps for Cannabis Cessation: Quality Assessment and Content Analysis.JMIR mHealth and uHealth · 2026Article
- Motives for Cannabis Use and Readiness to Change Among Users of the "Stop-Cannabis" Mobile App: Cluster Analysis.JMIR formative research · 2025Article
- A shot in the dark: the impact of online visibility on the search for an effective sleep app.Journal of clinical sleep medicine : JCSM : official publication of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine · 2024Review
- Mobile Health Interventions for Substance Use Disorders.Annual review of clinical psychology · 2024Review
- Smartphone Apps for Vaping Cessation: Quality Assessment and Content Analysis.JMIR mHealth and uHealth · 2022Article
- Developing a Smartphone-Based Adjunct Intervention to Reduce Cannabis Use Among Juvenile Justice-Involved Adolescents: Protocol for a Multiphase Study.JMIR research protocols · 2022Article
- Lessons for Uptake and Engagement of a Smartphone App (SURE Recovery) for People in Recovery From Alcohol and Other Drug Problems: Interview Study of App Users.JMIR human factors · 2022Article
- Feasibility of a Mobile Health App for Routine Outcome Monitoring and Feedback in SMART Recovery Mutual Support Groups: Stage 1 Mixed Methods Pilot Study.Journal of medical Internet research · 2021Article
- Vaping-Related Mobile Apps Available in the Google Play Store After the Apple Ban: Content Review.Journal of medical Internet research · 2020Review
- Harmful smartphone applications promoting alcohol and illicit substance use: a review and content analysis in the United States.Translational behavioral medicine · 2020Review
- e-INEBRIA Special Interest Group Roadmap for Best Practices for Research on Brief Digital Interventions for Problematic Alcohol and Illicit Drug Use.Journal of medical Internet research · 2020Article
- Cannabis health knowledge and risk perceptions among Canadian youth and young adults.Harm reduction journal · 2020Article
- A content analysis of smartphone apps for adolescent smoking cessation.Translational behavioral medicine · 2020Article
- Can a Smartphone App for Cannabis Cessation Gain a Broader User Group than Traditional Treatment Services?Substance abuse : research and treatment · 2020Article
- A smartphone app intervention for adult cannabis users wanting to quit or reduce their use: a pilot evaluation.Journal of cannabis research · 2019Article
- The Association between Cannabis Product Characteristics and Symptom Relief.Scientific reports · 2019Article
- Enhancing the Quality and Utility of Content Analyses for Addictive Disorders.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2018Article
- Sales and Advertising Channels of New Psychoactive Substances (NPS): Internet, Social Networks, and Smartphone Apps.Brain sciences · 2018Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundMobile technology is pervasive and widely used to obtain information about drugs such as cannabis, especially in a climate of rapidly changing cannabis policy; yet the content of available cannabis apps is largely unknown. Understanding the resources available to those searching for cannabis apps will clarify how this technology is being used to reflect and influence cannabis use behavior.
objectiveWe investigated the content of 59 cannabis-related mobile apps for Apple and Android devices as of November 26, 2014.
methodsThe Apple and Google Play app stores were searched using the terms "cannabis" and "marijuana." Three trained coders classified the top 20 apps for each term and each store, using a coding guide. Apps were examined for the presence of 20 content codes derived by the researchers.
resultsTotal apps available for each search term were 124 for cannabis and 218 for marijuana in the Apple App Store, and 250 each for cannabis and marijuana on Google Play. The top 20 apps in each category in each store were coded for 59 independent apps (30 Apple, 29 Google Play). The three most common content areas were cannabis strain classification (33.9%), facts about cannabis (20.3%), and games (20.3%). In the Apple App Store, most apps were free (77%), all were rated "17+" years, and the average user rating was 3.9/5 stars. The most popular apps provided cannabis strain classifications (50%), dispensary information (27%), or general facts about cannabis (27%). Only one app (3%) provided information or resources related to cannabis abuse, addiction, or treatment. On Google Play, most apps were free (93%), rated "high maturity" (79%), and the average user rating was 4.1/5. The most popular app types offered games (28%), phone utilities (eg, wallpaper, clock; 21%) and cannabis food recipes (21%); no apps addressed abuse, addiction, or treatment.
conclusionsCannabis apps are generally free and highly rated. Apps were most often informational (facts, strain classification), or recreational (games), likely reflecting and influencing the growing acceptance of cannabis for medical and recreational purposes. Apps addressing addiction or cessation were underrepresented in the most popular cannabis mobile apps. Differences among apps for Apple and Android platforms likely reflect differences in the population of users, developer choice, and platform regulations.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.