Drivers of Purchase Decisions Among Consumers of Dried Flower Cannabis Products: A Discrete Choice Experiment

Objective: Cannabis was legalized for nonmedical use in Canada in 2018. However, with a long-established illegal market, it is important to understand cannabis consumers' preferences in order to create a market that encourages purchasing cannabis through legalized channels. Method: A survey including a discrete choice experiment was conducted to estimate preference weights for seven attributes of dried flower cannabis purchases (price, packaging, moisture level, potency, product recommendations, package information, and regulation by Health Canada). Participants were at least 19 years of age, lived in Canada, and purchased cannabis in the last 12 months. A multinomial logit (MNL) model was used for the base model, and latent class analyses to identify subgroups preference profiles. Results: A total of 891 participants completed the survey. The MNL model showed that all attributes significantly influenced choice, except product recommendations. Potency and package information were most important. A three group latent class model showed that about 30% of the sample were most concerned with potency, whereas two groups-jointly making up the remaining 70%-were most concerned with package type (about 40% preferred bulk packaging, and about 30% preferred pre-rolled joints). Conclusions: Consumer purchase preferences for dried flower cannabis were influenced by different attributes. Preference patterns can be grouped into three categories. About 30% of the population appeared to have their preferences met by the legalized market, whereas another 30% appeared to be more loyal to the unlicensed market. The remaining 40% represented a group that may be influenced through regulatory changes to simplify packaging and increase availability of product information. (J. Stud. Alcohol Drugs, 84, 744-753, 2023)