Cannabis Edibles Packaging Descriptors Experiment

Cannabis Use Clinical Trial

Official title:

The Impact of Cannabis Edibles Packaging Descriptors on Consumer Appeal, Harm Perceptions and Willingness to Try

Clinical Trial Details — Status: Completed

Administrative data

• NCT number: NCT06171399
• Other study ID #: IRB00104038
• Secondary ID: R01DA053209
• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Start date: March 15, 2024
• Est. completion date: April 15, 2024

Study information

• Verified date: November 2023
• Source: Wake Forest University Health Sciences
• Contact: n/a
• Is FDA regulated: No
• Study type: Interventional

Clinical Trial Summary

The purpose of this study is to assess differences in perceptions of product appeal, harm, and subsequent willingness to try cannabis edibles products with/without product descriptors of interest.

Description:

Cannabis edibles are rapidly leading the legal recreational cannabis market. They present health harms that are not typical of smoked marijuana, including accidental overconsumption of high levels of Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). Product packaging plays an important role in influencing perceptions of a product's appeal and potential harm. This experiment will assign participants to view real cannabis edibles packaging edited with one of nine commonly used product descriptors found on real cannabis edibles products, and ask a series of questions to assess perceptions of product appeal and harm. One group of participants will serve as the control and will see the same cannabis edibles packaging without any product descriptors.

Recruitment information / eligibility

• Status: Completed
• Enrollment: 2731
• Est. completion date: April 15, 2024
• Est. primary completion date: April 15, 2024
• Accepts healthy volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers
• Gender: All
• Age group: 18 Years to 65 Years

Eligibility

Inclusion Criteria:

• US resident

• Aged 18-65, inclusive

• Up to 13% of participants will be those who identify as Black/African American

• Up to 16% of participants will be those who identify as Hispanic

• Approximately 50% of participants will be past year cannabis users

Exclusion Criteria:

• Does not currently reside in the United States

• Younger than 18 or older than 65

• Does not provide information regarding history of cannabis use

• Otherwise eligible but demographic and/or user group quotas have been met

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• Cannabis Use
• Marijuana Abuse

Intervention

Behavioral:
• "All Natural" descriptor
Participants in the nine intervention conditions will be shown four cannabis edibles packages that have been altered to contain one of the product descriptors of interest. All participants will see the same four products, and each condition will see the products with the same descriptor.
• "Gluten-free" descriptor
Participants in the nine intervention conditions will be shown four cannabis edibles packages that have been altered to contain one of the product descriptors of interest. All participants will see the same four products, and each condition will see the products with the same descriptor.
• "Vegan" descriptor
Participants in the nine intervention conditions will be shown four cannabis edibles packages that have been altered to contain one of the product descriptors of interest. All participants will see the same four products, and each condition will see the products with the same descriptor.
• "100% Organic" descriptor
Participants in the nine intervention conditions will be shown four cannabis edibles packages that have been altered to contain one of the product descriptors of interest. All participants will see the same four products, and each condition will see the products with the same descriptor.
• "Handcrafted" descriptor
Participants in the nine intervention conditions will be shown four cannabis edibles packages that have been altered to contain one of the product descriptors of interest. All participants will see the same four products, and each condition will see the products with the same descriptor.
• "Made with live resin" descriptor
Participants in the nine intervention conditions will be shown four cannabis edibles packages that have been altered to contain one of the product descriptors of interest. All participants will see the same four products, and each condition will see the products with the same descriptor.
• "Fast-acting" descriptor
Participants in the nine intervention conditions will be shown four cannabis edibles packages that have been altered to contain one of the product descriptors of interest. All participants will see the same four products, and each condition will see the products with the same descriptor.
• "Relax" descriptor
Participants in the nine intervention conditions will be shown four cannabis edibles packages that have been altered to contain one of the product descriptors of interest. All participants will see the same four products, and each condition will see the products with the same descriptor.
• "Energy Boost" descriptor
Participants in the nine intervention conditions will be shown four cannabis edibles packages that have been altered to contain one of the product descriptors of interest. All participants will see the same four products, and each condition will see the products with the same descriptor.
• No descriptor (control)
Participants in the nine intervention conditions will be shown four cannabis edibles packages that have been altered to contain one of the product descriptors of interest. All participants will see the same four products, and each condition will see the products with the same descriptor.

Locations

Country	Name	City	State
United States	Wake Forest University Health Sciences	Winston-Salem	North Carolina

Sponsors (2)

Lead Sponsor	Collaborator
Wake Forest University Health Sciences	National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)

Country where clinical trial is conducted

United States, 

Outcome

Type	Measure	Description	Time frame	Safety issue
Other	Perception of Quality Responses	Three items to assess the participants' perceptions of the quality of the product; all analyzed separately.; To what extent do you agree or disagree that this looks like a good quality product?; To what extent do you agree or disagree that this edible might taste good? Response options: (1) Strongly disagree to (5) Strongly agree; How much does this packaging make you think this edible is healthy? Response options: (1) Not at all; (2) A little; (3) Somewhat; (4) A lot	After exposure to product packaging up to 1 minute
Primary	Product Appeal Responses	Two items to assess different facets of the construct, analyzed separately.; How appealing is this product to you?; How appealing is this packaging to you? Response options: (0) Not at all appealing to (10) Very appealing	After exposure to product packaging up to 1 minute
Primary	Harm Perceptions (Absolute)	One question assessing participants' opinions of safety of the product and one question assessing participants' opinions of product safety based on the packaging; analyzed separately.; How safe do you think it would be to eat the edible in this package? Response options: (1) Completely unsafe, (2) Somewhat unsafe, (3) Somewhat safe, (4) Completely safe; How much does this packaging make you think this edible is safe to consume? Response options: (1) Not at all; (2) A little; (3) Somewhat; (4) A lot	After exposure to product packaging up to 1 minute
Primary	Willingness to Try Product	One question will assess the participant's willingness to try the product shown and one question assessing the participants' desire to try the product based on the product packaging; analyzed separately.; How interested would you be in a free sample of this product? Response options: (1) Not at all; (2) Slightly; (3) Somewhat; (4) Moderately; (5) Very; How much does seeing this packaging make you want to try this edible? Response options: (1) Not at all; (2) A little; (3) Somewhat; (4) A lot	After exposure to product packaging up to 1 minute
Secondary	Appeal to Children Responses	One item to assess the participants' assessment of the product packaging's potential appeal to children.; 1. How appealing do you think this packaging would be to children? Response options: (0) Not at all appealing to (10) Very appealing	After exposure to product packaging up to 1 minute
Secondary	Harm Perceptions (Relative)	One question assessing participants' opinions of safety of the product compared to other, similar, products.; 1. Compared to other edible products on the market, how safe do you think the edible in this package is? Response options: (1) Much less safe; (2) Somewhat less safe; (3) As safe; (4) Somewhat safer; (5) Much safer	After exposure to product packaging up to 1 minute