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Completed

NCT Number: NCT06171399

Cannabis Edibles Packaging Descriptors Experiment

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.

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Key information

Conditions

Cannabis Use

Age range

18 year–65 year

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

Wake Forest University Health Sciences

Winston-Salem, North Carolina, 27157, United States

About this study

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.

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: Yes

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

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

Treatment and study plan

"All Natural" descriptor

Behavioral

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

Behavioral

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

Behavioral

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

Behavioral

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

Behavioral

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

Behavioral

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

Behavioral

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

Behavioral

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

Behavioral

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)

Behavioral

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.

Primary outcomes

  1. Product Appeal

    Time frame: After exposure to product packaging up to 1 minute

    One item to assess the appeal of the product. Results will be reported as mean for all products within condition. Question: How appealing is this product to you? Response Options: (0) Not at all appealing to (10) Very appealing

  2. Product Harm Perceptions (Absolute)

    Time frame: After exposure to product packaging up to 1 minute

    One item to assess participants' opinions of safety of the product. Results will be reported as the number of each type of response. Question: 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

  3. Willingness to Try Free Sample

    Time frame: After exposure to product packaging up to 1 minute

    One item to assess participants' willingness to try a free sample of the product shown. Results will be reported as the number of each type of response. Question: 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

  4. Package Appeal

    Time frame: 1 min

    One item to assess appeal of the packaging of the product. Results with be reported as mean for all products within conditions. Question: How appealing is this packaging to you? Response Options: (0) Not at all appealing to (10) Very appealing

  5. Package Harm Perceptions (Absolute)

    Time frame: After exposure to product packaging up to 1 min

    One item to assess participants' opinions of product safety based on the packaging. Results will be reported as the number of each type of response. Question: 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

  6. Willingness to Try Product

    Time frame: After exposure to product packaging up to 1 min

    One item to assess the participants' willingness to try the product based on the packaging. Results will be reported as the number of each type of response. Question: 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

Secondary outcomes

  1. Appeal to Children Responses

    Time frame: After exposure to product packaging up to 1 minute

    One item to assess the participants' assessment of the product packaging's potential appeal to children. Results will be reported as mean for all products within condition. Questions: How appealing do you think this packaging would be to children? Response Options: (0) Not at all appealing to (10) Very appealing

  2. Product Harm Perceptions (Relative)

    Time frame: After exposure to product packaging up to 1 minute

    One question assessing participants' opinions of safety of the product compared to other, similar, products. Results will be reported as the number of each type of response. Question: 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

Other outcomes

  1. Perception of Quality

    Time frame: After exposure to product packaging up to 1 minute

    One item to assess the participants' perceptions of the quality of the product. Results will be reported as the number of each type of response. Question: To what extent do you agree or disagree that this looks like a good quality product? Response options: (1) Strongly disagree to (5) Strongly agree

  2. Perception of Good Taste

    Time frame: After exposure to product packaging up to 1 min

    One item to assess the participants' perceptions of the taste of the product. Results will be reported as the number of each type of response. Question: To what extent do you agree or disagree that this edible might taste good? Response options: (1) Strongly disagree to (5) Strongly agree

  3. Perception of Healthfulness of Product

    Time frame: After exposure to product packaging up to 1 min

    One item to asses the participants' perceptions of the healthfulness of the product based on the packaging. Results will be reported as the number of each type of response. Question: 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

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Wake Forest University Health Sciences

Other

Collaborators

  • National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)

Registry information

Official study title

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

Important dates

Study start
2024
Primary completion
2024
Study completion
2024
First posted
Dec 14, 2023
Registry last updated
May 9, 2025

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

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