Communicating THC levels and 'dose' to consumers: Implications for product labelling and packaging of cannabis products in regulated markets

被引:73
作者
Hammond, David [1 ]
机构
[1] Univ Waterloo, Sch Publ Hlth & Hlth Syst, 200 Univ Ave W, Waterloo, ON N2L 3G1, Canada
基金
加拿大健康研究院;
关键词
Cannabis; Policy; Substance use; EDIBLE MARIJUANA PRODUCTS; RECREATIONAL USE; LEGALIZATION; COLORADO; STATES;
D O I
10.1016/j.drugpo.2019.07.004
中图分类号
R194 [卫生标准、卫生检查、医药管理];
学科分类号
摘要
In a well-regulated drug market, consumers should be able to understand and titrate their dose with little difficulty. In the cannabis market, despite substantial increases in THC levels over time, users have had limited information on the strength of their products. In principle, cannabis legalization provides greater opportunity to communicate clear, accurate information to consumers through packaging and labelling standards. However, jurisdictions that have legalized cannabis have experienced an increase in adverse events from higher strength products, particularly from edibles and other concentrates. What little research exists suggests that current regulatory practices of labelling THC levels on packages may be ineffective due to consumer difficulties understanding numbers (e.g., mg vs. percentage), and the different ways THC levels are communicated across product categories. In particular, current labelling practices provide little guidance in terms of 'dose expression'-how THC 'dose' translates into consumption amounts for specific products. The current paper identifies five principles to guide cannabis labelling and packaging regulations, including considerations for numeric THC labelling, the use of standard servings or dose across different product forms, strategies to communicate 'dose expression', and 'dose-unit packaging'. Overall, there is a need for regulated cannabis markets to develop more effective packaging and labelling standards to allow consumers to effectively titrate their THC intake, with the goal of promoting lower-risk cannabis use.
引用
收藏
页数:6
相关论文
共 67 条
[1]  
[Anonymous], 2015, GUID DOC LAB PHARM D
[2]  
Barrus Daniel G, 2016, Methods Rep RTI Press, V2016, DOI 10.3768/rtipress.2016.op.0035.1611
[3]   Legal cannabis laws, home cultivation, and use of edible cannabis products: A growing, relationship? [J].
Borodovsky, Jacob T. ;
Budney, Alan J. .
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF DRUG POLICY, 2017, 50 :102-110
[4]   US cannabis legalization and use of vaping and edible products among youth [J].
Borodovsky, Jacob T. ;
Lee, Dustin C. ;
Crosier, Benjamin S. ;
Gabrielli, Joy L. ;
Sargent, James D. ;
Budney, Alan J. .
DRUG AND ALCOHOL DEPENDENCE, 2017, 177 :299-306
[5]  
Brohl B., 2015, Colorado Marijuana Enforcement Division: Annual update
[6]  
Budney, 2018, J ADOLESCENT HLTH
[7]   Big data on a big new market: Insights from Washington State's legal cannabis market [J].
Caulkins, Jonathan P. ;
Bao, Yilun ;
Davenport, Steve ;
Fahli, Imane ;
Guo, Yutian ;
Kinnard, Krista ;
Najewicz, Mary ;
Renaud, Lauren ;
Kilmer, Beau .
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF DRUG POLICY, 2018, 57 :86-94
[8]   Leveraging user perspectives for insight into cannabis concentrates [J].
Cavazos-Rehg, Patricia A. ;
Krauss, Melissa J. ;
Sowles, Shaina J. ;
Floyd, Glennon M. ;
Cahn, Elizabeth S. ;
Chaitan, Veronica L. ;
Ponton, Marisel .
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF DRUG AND ALCOHOL ABUSE, 2018, 44 (06) :628-641
[9]  
Centre for Substance Abuse and Addiction (CCSA), 2012, CAN LOW RISK ALC DRI
[10]   New trends in cannabis potency in USA and Europe during the last decade (2008-2017) [J].
Chandra, Suman ;
Radwan, Mohamed M. ;
Majumdar, Chandrani G. ;
Church, James C. ;
Freeman, Tom P. ;
ElSohly, Mahmoud A. .
EUROPEAN ARCHIVES OF PSYCHIATRY AND CLINICAL NEUROSCIENCE, 2019, 269 (01) :5-15