54% of Cannabis TikTok Videos Portrayed Use Positively, None Were Age-Restricted
Analysis of 881 cannabis-related TikTok videos found 54% portrayed use positively (collectively viewed 417 million times), with 72% using humor, and none were age-restricted despite a third of TikTok users being under 14.
Quick Facts
What This Study Found
54.14% of videos portrayed cannabis positively (417 million total views). 15.84% depicted cannabis products. Themes: entertaining/humorous (71.74%), personal experiences (42.90%), social/cultural acceptability (24.63%). No videos were age-restricted. All were publicly accessible.
Key Numbers
881 videos analyzed. Median views: 518,700. Median likes: 99,900. Positive portrayal: 54.14% (417M collective views). Humorous content: 71.74%. Personal experiences: 42.90%. Social acceptability: 24.63%. Age-restricted: 0%.
How They Did This
Content analysis of 1,377 cannabis-related TikTok videos identified through hashtag-based searches. After removing duplicates and irrelevant content, 881 videos were coded by 7 researchers for sentiment, theme, and video metrics.
Why This Research Matters
TikTok reaches massive youth audiences, with a third of users under 14. The absence of age restrictions on pro-cannabis content means young adolescents are routinely exposed to positive cannabis messaging, which research shows can influence attitudes and use.
The Bigger Picture
Social media has become a primary vector for cannabis normalization among youth. The scale is staggering: 417 million views on positively-framed cannabis content, accessible to children as young as 10. This represents a new frontier for substance use prevention.
What This Study Doesn't Tell Us
Hashtag-based sampling may not capture all cannabis content (misspellings, slang). The analysis captured a snapshot in time; TikTok content changes rapidly. Viewing a video does not necessarily change behavior. Cultural context of viewers was not assessed.
Questions This Raises
- ?Would effective age restrictions reduce youth cannabis content exposure?
- ?Do TikTok cannabis videos actually influence adolescent use behavior?
- ?Should cannabis companies be prohibited from TikTok marketing?
Trust & Context
- Key Stat:
- 417 million views on pro-cannabis TikTok content with zero age restrictions
- Evidence Grade:
- Moderate: systematic content analysis with multiple coders, though limited to a snapshot in time.
- Study Age:
- Published in 2022.
- Original Title:
- Getting high for likes: Exploring cannabis-related content on TikTok.
- Published In:
- Drug and alcohol review, 41(5), 1119-1125 (2022)
- Authors:
- Rutherford, Brienna N, Sun, Tianze(3), Johnson, Benjamin, Co, Steven, Lim, Tong Liang, Lim, Carmen C W, Chiu, Vivian, Leung, Janni, Stjepanovic, Daniel, Connor, Jason P, Chan, Gary C K
- Database ID:
- RTHC-04189
Evidence Hierarchy
A snapshot of a population at one point in time.
What do these levels mean? →Frequently Asked Questions
Can kids see cannabis content on TikTok?
Yes. This study found none of the 881 cannabis-related videos were age-restricted. All were publicly accessible through standard apps, meaning TikTok's youngest users (a third are under 14) could freely view positive cannabis content.
How is cannabis portrayed on TikTok?
Mostly positively and humorously. 54% of videos framed cannabis use positively, 72% used humor, and 25% promoted social acceptability of cannabis. These collectively received 417 million views.
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Cite This Study
https://rethinkthc.com/research/RTHC-04189APA
Rutherford, Brienna N; Sun, Tianze; Johnson, Benjamin; Co, Steven; Lim, Tong Liang; Lim, Carmen C W; Chiu, Vivian; Leung, Janni; Stjepanovic, Daniel; Connor, Jason P; Chan, Gary C K. (2022). Getting high for likes: Exploring cannabis-related content on TikTok.. Drug and alcohol review, 41(5), 1119-1125. https://doi.org/10.1111/dar.13433
MLA
Rutherford, Brienna N, et al. "Getting high for likes: Exploring cannabis-related content on TikTok.." Drug and alcohol review, 2022. https://doi.org/10.1111/dar.13433
RethinkTHC
RethinkTHC Research Database. "Getting high for likes: Exploring cannabis-related content o..." RTHC-04189. Retrieved from https://rethinkthc.com/research/rutherford-2022-getting-high-for-likes
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.