Cannabis companies use corporate social responsibility strategies similar to the tobacco industry | Research

The takeaway

An analysis of 9 major cannabis companies found CSR practices that encouraged consumption and targeted marginalized communities, using strategies comparable to those historically employed by the tobacco industry.

Cannabis regulators, public health advocates, and researchers studying commercial determinants of health.

Cannabis CSR strategies comparable to tobacco industry tactics

What the researchers found

Nine major cannabis companies engaged in CSR activities that encouraged increased consumption and targeted marginalized communities. Companies claimed activities would mitigate prohibition harms, promote diversity, expand medical access, and support charities, but these strategies paralleled tobacco industry tactics to recruit allies and influence regulation.

Why it matters

If cannabis companies are adopting the same public relations playbook as tobacco companies, understanding these strategies early may help policymakers avoid the regulatory capture that delayed tobacco control for decades.

The numbers in context

9 companies analyzed. 153 documents reviewed. Period: 2012-2021. CSR activities included educational programs, sustainability initiatives, voluntary marketing codes, and recruitment of public interest organizations.

How the study worked

Qualitative content analysis of CSR activities from 9 of the 10 largest publicly traded cannabis companies in the US and Canada (2012-2021). Systematic review of corporate websites and Nexis Uni yielding 153 news articles, press releases, and web pages. Modified grounded theory analysis.

What this study cannot tell us

Only 9 companies analyzed, all publicly traded. Qualitative assessment of intent is inherently subjective. Companies may have genuine philanthropic motivations alongside strategic ones. Published in JAMA Network Open, suggesting the framing may emphasize risks.

How to read the evidence

Moderate: systematic qualitative analysis published in a major journal, but inherently interpretive methodology.

When this study was published

Published in 2022.

The bigger picture

This study positions the cannabis industry within the broader framework of commercial determinants of health, suggesting that cannabis regulation should learn from the tobacco control experience.

Questions still open

Are cannabis CSR strategies effectively influencing regulation? Should cannabis companies be subject to the same CSR scrutiny as tobacco? Can the industry develop genuinely responsible practices distinct from tobacco playbook tactics?

Common questions

What CSR activities did cannabis companies engage in?

Educational programs, sustainability initiatives, voluntary marketing codes, charitable giving, and diversity promotion. The researchers found these activities encouraged consumption and targeted marginalized communities.

How are these similar to tobacco industry tactics?

Like tobacco companies, cannabis firms developed educational programs, recruited public interest organizations as allies, created voluntary marketing codes (to forestall regulation), and used charitable activities to generate positive public relations.

What should regulators do?

The authors suggest cannabis companies should be included when addressing commercial determinants of health, implying regulation should proactively address industry influence strategies rather than waiting for negative outcomes.

Read the original research

Content Analysis of the Corporate Social Responsibility Practices of 9 Major Cannabis Companies in Canada and the US.

JAMA network open, 5(8), e2228088

View on PubMed ↗Publisher’s paper ↗

Citation

Wakefield, Tanner; Glantz, Stanton A; Apollonio, Dorie E. (2022). Content Analysis of the Corporate Social Responsibility Practices of 9 Major Cannabis Companies in Canada and the US.. JAMA network open, 5(8), e2228088. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2022.28088