Retail Employees Place Less Emphasis on THC When Making Cannabis Purchases

By Sarah Okey, PhD, LCB Research Manager

Here is a sneak peek into the Dept. of Health and LCB survey of over 400 Washington respondents who use cannabis. The survey included cannabis consumers and cannabis retail employees who buy cannabis. Cannabis consumers rated the THC concentration of products as more important when making purchases than did cannabis retail employees.

This is an interesting finding because THC has long been a driving factor in purchasing decisions in the legal cannabis market. For example, increased THC concentration has been associated with increased cost and greater perceived quality, which ultimately has led to products becoming more and more concentrated with THC across time (also called potency inflation).

Despite THC being widely recognized as what produces the most significant effects, THC does not often predict the most positive effects. On average, high-THC products do not produce as pleasant effects relative to low- or moderate- THC products. Instead, cannabis that looks and smells better tends to produce the greatest positive experiences. Other cannabinoids, such as CBD or terpenes, may also play a role in pleasant subjective effects.

So if employees who responded to the survey did not emphasize THC concentration, what did they place emphasis on? We found employees placed greater importance on product appearance, how cannabis was manufactured/produced, company/brand recognition, and strain/cultivar name than did non-employees. This finding speaks to differences in product selection among those who work most closely with cannabis on a day-to-day basis. These results highlight a potential avenue for consumer education. De-emphasizing THC concentration is additionally a harm reduction technique, as high THC is associated with increased risk and overall problems.

Outside of the factors mentioned above, price and CBD/terpene profile were both rated as highly important (7/10 importance, on average) when making cannabis purchasing decisions. Several respondents additionally indicated knowing whether a product was organic, the date of harvest, as well as the product aroma as other important factors to consider.

Interested in other findings from this survey? Stay tuned for a full report soon!

Citations available upon request by contacting lcbresearch@lcb.wa.gov.