Researchers cataloged over 500,000 cannabis product listings from Weedmaps, finding THC dominates compound types and nearly half of all products feature flavor marketing.
Consumers curious about market trends, regulators considering product standards, and researchers studying cannabis commercialization.
42% of all product listings featured at least one flavor
What the researchers found
Among 501,012 consumable product listings, multisystem routes of administration were most common (41%), followed by respiratory (37%) and digestive (20%). THC was the dominant compound (63.3%), and 42% of listings featured at least one flavor, with lemon, cake, and strawberry topping the list.
Why it matters
As cannabis markets mature under legalization, the sheer variety and flavor-forward marketing of products raises questions about consumer appeal, youth attraction, and regulatory oversight that parallel concerns seen with flavored tobacco and vaping products.
The numbers in context
501,012 consumable listings analyzed; 41% multisystem ROA; 37% respiratory; 20% digestive; 42% featured flavors; top flavors: lemon (8.9%), cake (7.9%), strawberry (5.6%); THC was 63.3% of compound types
How the study worked
Researchers scraped 573,854 unique US product listings from the Weedmaps e-commerce platform between September and November 2023, removing non-consumable items and coding the remainder for product characteristics, routes of administration, and flavors.
What this study cannot tell us
Data came from a single e-commerce platform (Weedmaps) and may not represent all cannabis sales. Product descriptions were self-reported by dispensaries. The study did not assess potency or verify product contents.
How to read the evidence
Large dataset from a major e-commerce platform, but limited to one marketplace and self-reported product descriptions.
When this study was published
Published in 2024 with data from late 2023.
The bigger picture
This is one of the first large-scale snapshots of what the legal cannabis marketplace actually looks like at the product level. The dominance of flavored products and the wide variety of delivery methods reflect a rapidly diversifying industry that regulators are still catching up to.
Questions still open
- How do flavored cannabis products influence youth initiation compared to unflavored options?
- Do different routes of administration carry different health risk profiles?
Common questions
What was the most common way to consume cannabis products on this platform?
How prevalent is flavor marketing in cannabis products?
Read the original research
Cannabis-Derived Product Types, Flavors, and Compound Types From an E-Commerce Website.
JAMA network open, 7(10), e2440376
Citation
Nali, Matthew C; Yang, Joshua S; Li, Zhuoran; Larsen, Meng Zhen; Mackey, Tim K. (2024). Cannabis-Derived Product Types, Flavors, and Compound Types From an E-Commerce Website.. JAMA network open, 7(10), e2440376. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.40376