Peer-reviewed article
Online Cannabis Marketing Practices and Regulatory Compliance: A Surveillance Study Across 5 US Cities in States with Different Cannabis Regulations.
Cui Y, LoParco CR, Speer MB, McCready DM, Yang YT et al. ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This study examined online cannabis marketing practices across five US cities with different regulatory frameworks, assessing age verification, online sales, product offerings, and marketing strategies used by retailers. The researchers found that most retailers verified age and offered online sales, while frequently promoting health benefits like sleep and pain relief, often targeting specific populations including veterans, minorities, and seniors. Price promotions and loyalty programs were common, and most retailers displayed some health and safety warnings, though these varied by city. The study identified significant increases between 2022 and 2025 in beverage offerings, loyalty programs, and targeted marketing to specific demographic groups.
Key points
- 83.6% of retailers verified age and 96.5% offered online sales in 2025
- Health benefits most frequently promoted were sleep (58.5%) and pain relief (48.5%)
- 40.9% of retailers targeted veterans/military and 24.0% targeted racial/ethnic minorities
- 78.9% offered price promotions (daily/weekly/monthly specials) and 75.4% had membership/loyalty programs
- Significant increases from 2022-2025 in targeting seniors (4.6% to 27.7%), LGBTQ+ (5.4% to 13.1%), and racial/ethnic minorities (4.6% to 19.2%)
Limitations
This is a surveillance study of marketing practices without outcome data on actual harm to children or effectiveness of any intervention. The study documents marketing trends but cannot establish causal relationships between marketing exposure and cannabis use among young people.
Abstract
Background Cannabis marketing and regulation have rapidly evolved. This study examined online cannabis marketing across different regulatory contexts. Methods In 2022 and 2025, we assessed cannabis retailer websites from 5 US cities: Denver, Colorado; Seattle, Washington; Portland, Oregon; Las Vegas (LV), Nevada; and Los Angeles (LA), California. We assessed age verification, online sales, products, marketing, and warnings, and compared by city in 2025 (N = 171) and by year (N = 130). Results In 2025, most verified age (83.6%) and offered online sales (96.5%). Frequently promoted health benefits included sleep (58.5%) and pain (48.5%), most often by Denver, LV, and LA retailers (P's < .05). Targeted populations included veterans/military (40.9%) and racial/ethnic minorities (24.0%), especially in LV and LA (P's < .05), as well as seniors (29.2%), women (25.7%), LGBTQ+ (13.5%), young adults (13.5%), and underage (7.6%). Price promotions included daily/weekly/monthly specials (78.9%) and membership/loyalty programs (75.4%). Most (73.7%) displayed health/safety warnings (range: 57.6% in Portland to 96.9% in LV, P = .003), commonly adults-only (57.9%) and keep from children (46.8%). Most (58.5%) displayed regulation-related warnings (range: 41.9% in LA to 71.9% in Seattle, P = .011), common purchase/amount restrictions (49.1%) and no public use (27.5%). There were increases (P's < .05) from 2022 to 2025 in beverage offerings (74.6% in 2022 vs 90.0% in 2025), membership/loyalty programs (64.6% vs 78.5%), and targeting veterans/military (28.5% vs 40.0%), seniors (4.6% vs 27.7%), LGBTQ+ (5.4% vs 13.1%), and racial/ethnic minorities (4.6% vs 19.2%). Conclusions Stronger regulations and enforcement are needed to address online retail, including limiting product access, price promotions, and marketing practices targeting specific populations.