RECALL AND HEALTH PERCEPTIONS OF CANNABIS PRODUCTS BASED ON PACKAGING: VISUAL AIDS AND CANNABINOID POTENCY

Joshua L. Stanz

doi:10.7273/000006972

In regulated markets, packaging of cannabis products influences decisions to purchase and use cannabis, communicates messages about safety and risk, and provides information about cannabinoid potency (i.e., THC and CBD). While people who use cannabis often report difficulty understanding product information and there is little guidance for how best to convey product potency, plain packaging with a visual aid depicting potency values may help to resolve this issue. Along with labeling, potency values may also influence how people perceive and recall information about cannabis products. Moreover, the inclusion of a visual aid may interact with potency values, thereby affecting perceptions and recall. The aims of the current study were to examine (1) the effect of including a visual aid on cannabis labels on perceptions of health benefits, likelihood to purchase and use the product, and potency recall; (2) the effect of different THC and CBD potency ratio on product perceptions of health harms and health benefits, likelihood to purchase and use the product, and potency recall; and (3) the visual aid × potency ratio interaction on perception outcomes. In an online 2 × 3 mixed experimental design, participants who used cannabis flower in the past three months (n = 431) were randomly assigned to view images of cannabis flower packages with THC/CBD potency ratio communicated using either numbers only or with numbers and a visual aid. Participants examined three packages with different potencies (THC-dominant, equal THC:CBD, CBD- dominant), reported perceptions of harm, health benefits, likelihood to purchase, likelihood to use, and were asked to recall the THC and CBD potency values. Including a visual aid on packaging did not affect recall or perceptions, and visual aids did not interact with different potencies on these outcomes. However, there were significant differences for recall and perception variables based on potency. Moreover, relative to equal THC:CBD and CBD-dominant, THC-dominant products were rated significantly higher for perceived harms, likelihood to purchase and use, and lower for perceived benefits. Thus, potency combinations appear to affect health harm and benefit perceptions, and these findings may inform approaches to packaging design and consumer education for people who use cannabis.

RECALL AND HEALTH PERCEPTIONS OF CANNABIS PRODUCTS BASED ON PACKAGING: VISUAL AIDS AND CANNABINOID POTENCY

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