Unlicensed Cannabis Products in New York Had Less Safety Info and More Youth Appeal
Unlicensed cannabis products in New York had significantly less essential information, fewer safety features, and more youth-appealing elements on their labels compared to licensed products.
Quick Facts
What This Study Found
Unlicensed products had significantly less essential information (2.20 vs 4.89 of 6 elements), fewer safety features (2.22 vs 4.29 of 6), and more youth-appealing elements (2.58 vs 1.60 of 7) than licensed products. Unlicensed products often featured misplaced warnings from other states and edible-specific warnings on non-edible products.
Key Numbers
88 products from licensed and unlicensed retailers. Essential info: 2.20 vs 4.89 of 6 (p<0.001). Safety features: 2.22 vs 4.29 of 6 (p<0.001). Youth-appealing elements: 2.58 vs 1.60 of 7 (p<0.01). Unlicensed products had misplaced warnings from other states.
How They Did This
Cross-sectional study of 88 cannabis products (58 flower, 30 vape) obtained from randomly selected licensed and unlicensed retailers in New York in October-November 2023. Labels were coded across 4 categories: essential information, safety features, youth-appealing elements, and product descriptors.
Why This Research Matters
Product labels are consumers' primary source of information about what they are using. When unlicensed products lack potency data, safety warnings, and contain misleading information, consumers cannot make informed decisions about their use.
The Bigger Picture
The persistence of unlicensed cannabis retailers in legal markets undermines the consumer protection goals of legalization. These findings support stronger enforcement and public education about the risks of purchasing from unlicensed sources.
What This Study Doesn't Tell Us
New York-specific findings during early legalization period. Small sample (88 products). Label content was assessed but actual product testing was not conducted. Unlicensed market may have changed since data collection.
Questions This Raises
- ?Do consumers notice or care about label differences?
- ?Would stronger enforcement reduce the unlicensed market?
- ?How do other states' licensed vs unlicensed product labels compare?
Trust & Context
- Key Stat:
- Unlicensed products had half the essential information of licensed products
- Evidence Grade:
- Moderate: systematic comparison using randomly selected products with standardized coding, but small sample from one city during early legalization
- Study Age:
- Published in 2025 using October-November 2023 data from New York
- Original Title:
- Labeling of Cannabis Products From Licensed and Unlicensed Retailers in New York.
- Published In:
- American journal of preventive medicine, 69(5), 108000 (2025)
- Authors:
- Becker, Timothy D(3), Menzi, Peter J(2), Olfson, Mark(17), Mosharova, Polina, Levin, Frances R, Sultan, Ryan S
- Database ID:
- RTHC-06030
Evidence Hierarchy
A snapshot of a population at one point in time.
What do these levels mean? →Frequently Asked Questions
What information was missing from unlicensed products?
Unlicensed products scored an average of 2.20 out of 6 on essential information elements like THC potency, use-by dates, and other basic product data. Licensed products scored 4.89 out of 6.
How were unlicensed products more appealing to youth?
Unlicensed products featured more cartoons, multiple bright colors, and other youth-appealing design elements (2.58 vs 1.60 of 7 elements), while also lacking age-appropriate health warnings.
Read More on RethinkTHC
Cite This Study
https://rethinkthc.com/research/RTHC-06030APA
Becker, Timothy D; Menzi, Peter J; Olfson, Mark; Mosharova, Polina; Levin, Frances R; Sultan, Ryan S. (2025). Labeling of Cannabis Products From Licensed and Unlicensed Retailers in New York.. American journal of preventive medicine, 69(5), 108000. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2025.108000
MLA
Becker, Timothy D, et al. "Labeling of Cannabis Products From Licensed and Unlicensed Retailers in New York.." American journal of preventive medicine, 2025. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2025.108000
RethinkTHC
RethinkTHC Research Database. "Labeling of Cannabis Products From Licensed and Unlicensed R..." RTHC-06030. Retrieved from https://rethinkthc.com/research/becker-2025-labeling-of-cannabis-products
Access the Original Study
Study data sourced from PubMed, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health.
This study breakdown was produced by the RethinkTHC research team. We analyze and report published research findings without making health recommendations. All interpretations are based solely on the published abstract and study data.