ArticleThe International journal on drug policy2024
A content analysis of cannabis edibles package marketing in the United States.
Article in The International journal on drug policy, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers.
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Who cites it
9 citing papers in PubMed.
- Cannabis retailers' marketing practices and compliance with state regulations: a 2025 point-of-sale audit in 5 U.S. cities.Addictive behaviors · 2026Article
- "Cannabis Green Wave" versus "Nicotine Freeze": the regulatory paradox of cannabis liberalization and nicotine prohibition.Harm reduction journal · 2026Article
- Cannabidiol in Food and Food Supplements: Drug, Novel Food and Hazard Triangle.Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Gimmie the Gummies: Initial validation of the Edibles Marijuana Purchase Task.Experimental and clinical psychopharmacology · 2026Article
- Labeling of Cannabis Products From Licensed and Unlicensed Retailers in New York.American journal of preventive medicine · 2025Article
- A Thematic Text Analysis of Cannabis Edibles Brand Names.Cannabis and cannabinoid research · 2025Article
- A content analysis of cannabis edible product characteristics, packaging features, and online promotions.Preventive medicine · 2025Article
- A Narrative Review of Research on Cannabis Advertising in the United States.Current addiction reports · 2025Review
- Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
13 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundWith states legalizing cannabis at a rapid pace, and the increasing popularity of edibles, it is important to document marketing practices to better understand how they might be appealing and misleading to consumers to guide state policymakers.
methodsA descriptive content analysis of 1229 cannabis edible packages advertised on a publicly available website between June and November 2022 and available for sale in licensed dispensaries was performed.
resultsHealthy ingredient descriptors were the most common type of descriptor with 31 % of packages including words like "vegan", "gluten free" and "natural". Quality descriptors like "handcrafted" were on 28 % of packages. Other descriptors were focused on the consumer experience including expected effects (e.g., "relax") (27 %), taste or flavor (e.g., "sour") (21 %) and pharmacokinetics (e.g., "fast-acting") (19 %). Images of non-cannabis plants and outdoor nature settings were on half of packages. Images of the cannabis plant were on 33 % of packages. Flavor imagery including images of food were common (43 %). Other marketing appeals included images of people (15 %), animals (12 %) and space (10 %).
conclusionsPackage marketing used by other commercial industries was common on cannabis edible packages. Edibles marketing is distinct from other cannabis products in its ability to focus on the food ingredients which could mislead consumers into thinking the cannabis, rather than the food, is healthy or less harmful. Research examining the impact of cannabis edibles marketing strategies on appeal and harm perceptions is critically needed to guide policymakers as they establish packaging regulations to optimize public health and safety.
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Registered trials
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