Cannabis buyers care most about quality, strain type, and price when choosing products at dispensaries
Among 817 cannabis users across seven US states, quality, strain type, price, THC content, and pesticide status were the top five purchase factors, jointly accounting for half of total importance.
Quick Facts
What This Study Found
The top five purchase factors were quality, strain type, price, THC content, and pesticide status, accounting for roughly half the total importance. Medical users prioritized CBD content and pesticide status, while recreational users focused more on quality, THC, and price. Packaging was the least important attribute.
Key Numbers
Sample: 817 cannabis users across 7 states. Top 5 attributes: quality, strain type, price, THC, pesticide (50% of total importance). Packaging: least important. 10 choice scenarios per respondent.
How They Did This
Online survey of 817 adult cannabis users in seven states with legal recreational sales (January 2018). Best-worst scaling experiment with 20 policy-relevant attributes across 10 choice scenarios per respondent. Analyzed using hierarchical Bayesian mixed logit models.
Why This Research Matters
Understanding what drives cannabis purchase decisions helps regulators design effective labeling requirements and helps public health agencies target messaging about product safety.
The Bigger Picture
The high importance placed on pesticide status suggests consumer demand for safety testing, while the low importance of packaging challenges whether current packaging regulations meaningfully influence consumer behavior.
What This Study Doesn't Tell Us
Online survey may over-represent tech-savvy users. Seven states may not represent emerging markets. Best-worst scaling captures stated rather than revealed preferences. January 2018 data precedes further market evolution.
Questions This Raises
- ?Would education about cannabis potency risks change how consumers weight THC content?
- ?Could labeling requirements leverage the high importance of quality and pesticide status?
Trust & Context
- Key Stat:
- Top 5 factors account for 50% of cannabis purchase importance
- Evidence Grade:
- Well-designed choice experiment with validated methodology, though stated preferences may not match actual behavior.
- Study Age:
- Published in 2021 with data from January 2018.
- Original Title:
- Perceived Importance of Factors in Cannabis Purchase Decisions: A Best-worst Scaling Experiment.
- Published In:
- The International journal on drug policy, 91, 102793 (2021)
- Authors:
- Zhu, Bin(2), Guo, Huiying, Cao, Ying(2), An, Ruopeng, Shi, Yuyan
- Database ID:
- RTHC-03640
Evidence Hierarchy
A snapshot of a population at one point in time.
What do these levels mean? →Frequently Asked Questions
What matters most to cannabis buyers?
Quality ranked highest, followed by strain type, price, THC content, and pesticide status. These five factors accounted for about half of total purchase importance.
Do medical and recreational users want different things?
Yes. Medical users prioritized CBD content and pesticide safety, while recreational users focused more on quality, THC levels, and price.
Read More on RethinkTHC
Cite This Study
https://rethinkthc.com/research/RTHC-03640APA
Zhu, Bin; Guo, Huiying; Cao, Ying; An, Ruopeng; Shi, Yuyan. (2021). Perceived Importance of Factors in Cannabis Purchase Decisions: A Best-worst Scaling Experiment.. The International journal on drug policy, 91, 102793. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugpo.2020.102793
MLA
Zhu, Bin, et al. "Perceived Importance of Factors in Cannabis Purchase Decisions: A Best-worst Scaling Experiment.." The International journal on drug policy, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugpo.2020.102793
RethinkTHC
RethinkTHC Research Database. "Perceived Importance of Factors in Cannabis Purchase Decisio..." RTHC-03640. Retrieved from https://rethinkthc.com/research/zhu-2021-perceived-importance-of-factors
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.