As Recreational Marijuana Expands

As recreational cannabis expands, standardized monitoring procedures examining the retail environment are vital for notifying policy and enforcement. We carried out a reliability and generalizability research study utilizing a previously developed tool involving assessment of a sample of 25 arbitrarily picked Seattle recreational cannabis retailers (20 recreational; 5 recreational/Medical Use Of Cannabinoids) in 2017. The tool examined: 1) contextual/neighborhood features (i.e., facilities close-by); 2) compliance/security (e.g., age-of-sale signs, age confirmation); and 3) marketing (i.e., promos, item accessibility, rate). We found that retailers were typically within 2 blocks of restaurants (n = 23), grocery stores (n = 17), alcohol shops (n = 13), and bars/clubs (n = 11). Additionally, 2 were within two blocks of schools, and four were within two blocks of parks. Almost all (n = 23) had outside signage suggesting the minimum age requirement, and 23 verified age. Two retailers had outside ads for cannabis, and 24 had interior advertisements. Overall, there were 76 interior ads (M = 3.04; SD = 1.84), most frequently for edibles (n = 28). At least one rate promotion/discount was tape-recorded in 17 merchants, many typically in the kind of loyalty subscription programs (n = 10) or daily/weekly offers (n = 10). One seller displayed prospective health harms/warnings, while three published some health claim. Products offered throughout item categories were similar; we also noted circumstances of offering retailer-branded garments/ paraphernalia (which is forbidden). Lowest price/unit across product categories showed low irregularity across sellers. This research study recorded high inter-rater dependability of the monitoring tool (Kappas = 0.73 to 1.00). In conclusion, this tool can be utilized in future research and practice aimed at analyzing retailers marketing practices and regulative compliance.