The goal of legalization was to improve health and safety by creating access to regulated products, with accurate product labels and warnings and no risk of contamination.
A combination of deductive and inductive coding was carried out, themes from the literature were identified, and new themes from the transcripts were discovered.
The non-medical use of cannabis was legalized in Canada on October 17, 2018.
While all these factors likely influence cannabis purchase decisions, limited published research has explored consumer preferences for cannabis products in a post-legalization environment.
Understanding the factors consumers consider when purchasing cannabis will allow policymakers to evaluate the regulations regarding cannabis sales in Canada to ensure that the public can access safe, government-licensed cannabis that also meets consumer needs.
Participants were recruited through a variety of mechanisms, including social media campaigns, posters, radio ads, and media interviews, and they were offered a $20 electronic gift card in recognition of their time.
While focus groups were preferred to allow for discussion between participants and the building on of ideas, interviews were offered if the participant requested to remain anonymous or if it was required for scheduling purposes.
Some themes had been pre-identified through literature and media articles met to discuss and organize data into themes and sub-themes.
The team was comprised of a gender-balanced, culturally diverse group including healthcare researchers in the disciplines of pharmacy and medicine who had experience in qualitative data collection and analysis and a pharmacy trainee .
This study was approved by Memorial University’s Interdisciplinary Committee on Ethics in Human Research and conducted in accordance with the Tri-Council Policy Statement.
With respect to cannabis use history, most participants were relatively frequent purchasers, with 74% making one or more purchases a month, and 100% were consumers prior to legalization.
Analysis of the transcripts resulted in categorizing the participants’ drivers of purchase decisions into five broad themes: 1) price, 2) quality, 3) packaging, 4) social influences, and 5) retailer characteristics .
As one participant noted: “As long as you lower the price, the black market is gonna lower, and you’re just gonna get more money and bang for your dollar, and you have more choice.” One participant over 60 years of age, who had decades of experience purchasing cannabis, said “A gram all my life has been 20 dollars and you wouldn’t get off it and nobody would change that”, and therefore prices in both the licensed and unlicensed market are now much lower than they were ever used to paying.
Those who frequently used cannabis for either medical or non-medical purposes reported that purchasing through legal stores was unsustainable due to high costs, stating, “the reason that I stopped purchasing medical marijuana because … I’d go bankrupt”.
It was also a concern that cannabis was not covered by any health insurance plans: “I have a really good health care plan from my employer, and it’s still not covered through that”.
Participants also noted that unlicensed retailers offer better sales, loyalty programs and bulk purchase incentives.
Some noted that it was not really possible to purchase in bulk at a licensed store because of the limit of 30 g in a single transaction.
While not mutually exclusive, the participants’ perception of quality was broken down into three main categories regarding the product: 1) meeting federal regulation standards, 2) safe and effective, and 3) cultivated to cater to the user’s experience.
They focused on issues such as the accuracy of labels and reducing the risk of contamination from bugs, mites, mold, and other street drugs.
And I know a huge issue in the black market is when there are mites and bugs that get into the crops, they defecate on the product.
As one participant said: “cannabis is a bit more of a means to an end for me.
From a safety perspective, participants who bought cannabis products from unlicensed markets expressed concern about the potential for pesticide use, improper cultivation, and/or the potential for mold and contamination with unwanted additives.
Finally, more frequent consumer’s generally defined quality based on characteristics that influenced their experience with the product, such as how it was cured and how it looked, smelled, tasted and felt when inhaled.
With respect to the smell, taste and feel of the inhaled smoke, participants mentioned that the variety of terpenes in different plant strains could influence the user experience and choice, but there was no specific flavour profile that indicated a higher- or lower-quality product.
“I look at the trichomes and the trichomes of cannabis; it’s almost like a little bulb, like a little mushroom that grows on top of the calyx or leaf.
For those that indicated that cannabis quality related to the cultivation process, they suggested that products available from licensed retailers were of lower quality, with very dry leaves, small buds and more stems. It seemed, though, that the products of licenced retailers may be improving.
People with experience using unlicensed online vendors indicated that the products were of superior quality compared to licensed stores.
It’s a thing where people use it to make things like extracts, but the flower is still intact, but most of the psychoactive effects have been removed from it by a chemical process.
This grading system does not seem to be used in the licensed market, and participants suggested that the highest-quality cannabis could not be sold in licensed stores because production regulations prevented products of that quality from being produced.
Participants reported that unlicensed community retailers could get their supply from either growing it themselves, from licensed retailers , or from larger unlicensed cultivator/retailers.
However, it was noted that while there was a lot a variability in the safety of products available from the unlicensed retailers, there were trustworthy sources that offer high-quality, safe products.
As one person said, “I prefer to have labels like full labels, I prefer to have full warning signs, and I definitely want to know where it came from… so I can guarantee myself and my friends have a safe .” While others were indifferent to label characteristics, no one was opposed to the labelling.
As one participant indicated: “The pre-rolls yea, like you got a box and then you got a tube, and you got the plastic around that tube, and you got to pop that to open.” They were aware that packages had to be child-safe but felt there could be a better way.
As one participant said: “You get a big container… you get a little bit of product in a big old container… I think that maybe adds to the fact that it gets drier quicker because it’s not as much in there.” Some companies are adding moisture packets or strips to prevent the product from drying out, but customers cannot see the contents before purchasing so it is unclear which companies take extra steps to maintain their product quality.
As one participant said: “they go the extra mile… to make sure that your product is…almost as it was, when it was cured and cut”.
As one person said, “I go almost solely off recommendation when I go to legal stores.” Some participants were also interested in hearing recommendations about new product types or strains.
One person said, “when I walk into the door, everyone just gawks over looking at you.” This kind of social behaviour may be intimidating to some customers.
Some participants discussed how they were not as quick to reveal their cannabis use in front of colleagues as they would be for alcohol, as they were unsure of how they would be perceived.
She preferred to purchase from a store and did not want to be in a situation where she had to meet someone alone.
These included product availability and variety , location proximity, hours of operation, and the knowledge of staff.
The availability and variety of products from particular sources was an important factor in participants’ choices of where to make their purchase.
Those with experience suggested that “you gotta buy like four or five packages, just to, you know to get a buzz going on edibles”, and they ended up purchasing from unlicensed sources to get higher-strength products.
As one person said: “I just … go to the local place, whichever is closest.” Several people noted that some legal stores have limited hours of operation and close too early; however, when speaking about unlicensed neighborhood retailers, one person said: “when you get somebody … they’re open almost 24 hours, whereas when you go to a store you would have to go during set hours.” It was also noted that unlicensed retailers, particularly neighborhood retailers, have adapted to the new legal market to remain competitive.
There was reference to certain stores where staff not only lacked a level of awareness about the products but also gave customers a sense of being judged for the purchases they were making.
This study was the first qualitative study to engage with consumers to understand their perspectives on the factors that were relevant and important when purchasing a cannabis product.
The findings of this study are in line with multi-attribute utility theory, which states that when people make choices they take into consideration the various elements of that choice .
While it was not possible to differentiate preferences between use for medical or non-medical purposes, gender or age, there were some obvious differences between those who were experienced and those who were less experienced.
Several studies indicated that a final grade is based on a combination of the flower structure, trichome density, trim, terpene profile, how it burns, colour of the ash, flavor, effect, and use of sprays or pesticides.
While we had representation from all four regions of the province and from rural and urban communities, there may be factors that were not fully explored based upon geographical location.
This knowledge could be used to support cannabis policy and regulation changes to help better align them with consumer needs and ultimately make the legal cannabis market more appealing to those who purchase cannabis.
Like most other purchase decisions, price appears to be the most important consideration; however, people do make trade-offs with price in return for other aspects such as higher quality, product recommendations from peers and/or retailers, improved customer support, and convenience.
The impacts of potency, warning messages, and price on preferences for Cannabis flower products.
Cannabis use preferences and decision-making among a cross-sectional cohort of medical Cannabis patients with chronic pain.
The effects of perceived quality on the behavioural economics of alcohol, amphetamine, cannabis, cocaine, and ecstasy purchases.
The effects of price and perceived quality on the behavioural economics of alcohol, amphetamine, cannabis, cocaine, and ecstasy purchases.
Vincent PC, Collins RL, Liu L, Yu J, De Leo JA, Earleywine M.
JD, LB, and MN are Principal Investigators of and designed Partnerships for Cannabis Policy Evaluation, Newfoundland and Labrador Study.
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