| Title |
Marijuana Promotion Online: an Investigation of Dispensary Practices
|
|---|---|
| Published in |
Prevention Science, April 2018
|
| DOI | 10.1007/s11121-018-0889-2 |
| Pubmed ID | |
| Authors |
Patricia A. Cavazos-Rehg, Melissa J. Krauss, Elizabeth Cahn, Kiriam Escobar Lee, Erin Ferguson, Biva Rajbhandari, Shaina J. Sowles, Glennon M. Floyd, Carla Berg, Laura J. Bierut |
| Abstract |
Marijuana product advertising will become more common, as the use of medical and/or recreational marijuana becomes increasingly legal in the USA. In this study, we investigate the marketing tactics being used on marijuana dispensary websites in the USA that could influence substance use behaviors. One hundred dispensary websites were randomly selected from 10 states that allowed the legal use of medical or recreational marijuana and had at least 10 operational dispensaries. Three dispensaries were excluded due to non-functioning websites, leaving a sample of 97 dispensaries. Content analysis was conducted on these dispensaries' websites, with the primary areas of focus including website age verification, marijuana effects, warnings, and promotional tactics. Among the 97 dispensaries, 75% did not include age verification. Roughly 30% offered online ordering and 21% offered delivery services. Sixty-seven percent made health claims pertaining to medical conditions that could be treated by their marijuana products, with moderate or conclusive evidence to support their claims. Less than half of the dispensaries (45%) advised consumers of possible side effects, and only 18% included warnings about contraindications. Nearly half (44%) offered reduced prices or coupons, 19% offered "buy one get one free" offers, and 16% provided giveaways or free samples. Our findings indicate that marijuana dispensary websites are easily accessible to youth. In addition, only a small amount of the websites advised consumers about possible side effects or contraindications. This study suggests the need for surveillance of marijuana commercialization and online advertising especially in the context of state policy reforms. |
X Demographics
The data shown below were collected from the profiles of 5 X users who shared this research output. Click here to find out more about how the information was compiled.
Geographical breakdown
| Country | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| United States | 3 | 60% |
| Unknown | 2 | 40% |
Demographic breakdown
| Type | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Members of the public | 3 | 60% |
| Scientists | 2 | 40% |
Mendeley readers
The data shown below were compiled from readership statistics for 72 Mendeley readers of this research output. Click here to see the associated Mendeley record.
Geographical breakdown
| Country | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Unknown | 72 | 100% |
Demographic breakdown
| Readers by professional status | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Researcher | 13 | 18% |
| Student > Ph. D. Student | 11 | 15% |
| Student > Master | 10 | 14% |
| Student > Doctoral Student | 5 | 7% |
| Other | 4 | 6% |
| Other | 6 | 8% |
| Unknown | 23 | 32% |
| Readers by discipline | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Social Sciences | 10 | 14% |
| Psychology | 8 | 11% |
| Medicine and Dentistry | 7 | 10% |
| Nursing and Health Professions | 7 | 10% |
| Neuroscience | 3 | 4% |
| Other | 11 | 15% |
| Unknown | 26 | 36% |
Attention Score in Context
This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 14. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 01 December 2022.
All research outputs
#2,301,239
of 23,230,825 outputs
Outputs from Prevention Science
#145
of 1,045 outputs
Outputs of similar age
#51,322
of 329,635 outputs
Outputs of similar age from Prevention Science
#7
of 28 outputs
Altmetric has tracked 23,230,825 research outputs across all sources so far. Compared to these this one has done particularly well and is in the 90th percentile: it's in the top 10% of all research outputs ever tracked by Altmetric.
So far Altmetric has tracked 1,045 research outputs from this source. They typically receive a lot more attention than average, with a mean Attention Score of 11.2. This one has done well, scoring higher than 86% of its peers.
Older research outputs will score higher simply because they've had more time to accumulate mentions. To account for age we can compare this Altmetric Attention Score to the 329,635 tracked outputs that were published within six weeks on either side of this one in any source. This one has done well, scoring higher than 84% of its contemporaries.
We're also able to compare this research output to 28 others from the same source and published within six weeks on either side of this one. This one has done well, scoring higher than 75% of its contemporaries.