Testing Warning Labels for Retail Cannabis Products Using a Discrete Choice Experiment

July 7, 2026 updated by: University of Oklahoma

Developing and Testing Warning Labels for Retail Cannabis Products

This discrete choice experiment (DCE) study aims to address gaps in cannabis packaging regulatory research by testing how variations in cannabis packaging and health warning design impact reactions to packaging and intentions about cannabis use. The goal of this work is to identify the most effective combination of packaging features to improve consumer awareness of cannabis health risks. Establishing criteria for cannabis products in the US is critical because inconsistent state guidelines have resulted in contradictory policies in legal retail states, arguably leading to increased hazardous use19 and failure to meet public health standards. The contributions of this study's outcomes are expected to be significant because they will benefit public health as cannabis becomes available in legal retail markets and regulatory and governmental agencies seek effective ways to communicate cannabis risks to the public while also deterring initiation and uptake among younger individuals and nonusers.

Study Overview

Status

Recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

The DCE will be conducted via a self-administered online questionnaire, with inclusion criteria assessed before assignment to choice set conditions. Participants will be residents of legal-retail cannabis use states, able to legally purchase cannabis (21 or older), who have used cannabis in the past 30 days (i.e., current use). Frequency of cannabis use (i.e., monthly, weekly, daily), mode (e.g., flower, vape, etc.), and dose (i.e., THC level) will be measured through self-report. Inclusion criteria are reported using cannabis (any mode) in the past 30 days. Consented participants will be presented with descriptions of cannabis packaging attributes and an example choice set to become familiar with DCE tasks. Participants will be asked to imagine the cannabis products in the DCE as the only choices they have available to them "in the near future" and to evaluate images within this scenario. Participants will be randomly assigned to view 16 choice sets. To optimize the evaluation of preferences and reduce respondent burden, we will assign contrasting labels to "choice sets," each of which will include 4 images of products in such a way that each attribute level appears an equal number of times in combination with all other attribute levels. Presentation order of the 16 choice sets will be randomized within and across choice sets to minimize ordering effects. Participants will view each choice set for as long as they wish. After evaluating choice sets, participants will complete a recall task to assess retention of health warning information and will be provided a debrief page with information about substance use and resources for seeking help with substance use.

Study Type

Observational

Enrollment (Estimated)

450

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Oklahoma
      • Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States, 73104
        • Recruiting
        • University of Oklahoma
        • Contact:

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Sampling Method

Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

The study population consists of adults aged 21 years and older residing in U.S. states with legal retail cannabis markets (i.e., adult use non-medical or "recreational") who report cannabis use within the past 30 days. Participants will be recruited from an online consumer research panel and will represent active adult cannabis consumers in these jurisdictions.

Description

Eligibility for participation includes:

  • being 21 years of age or older
  • being able to speak and understand English
  • self-reported having consumed cannabis in the last 30 days (any mode, e.g., flower, vape, edible, etc.)
  • residing in a U.S. state or jurisdiction where retail (i.e., non-medical) cannabis use is legal

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort
Intervention / Treatment
Cannabis Packaging Choice Task
Participants are assigned to a single experimental arm in which they complete an online discrete choice experiment (DCE) involving hypothetical cannabis product packaging.
Behavioral: Cannabis Packaging Discrete Choice Experiment
Participants complete multiple discrete choice tasks in which hypothetical cannabis product packaging attributes are systematically varied, including package style, branding type, health warning size, THC content, and product type. All participants complete the same experimental procedure but are exposed to different combinations of stimuli across tasks.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Risk perceptions about cannabis products
Time Frame: At the time of survey completion (approximately 15 minutes)
Binary measure using best-worst scaling. For each question, participants will also have the option of indicating none of the above/opt-out as a response. For each choice set, the statement selected as the best option will be coded using a value of 1, and the worst will be coded as -1. The remaining statements in that set will be coded as 0. If the participant selects none of the above, all statements in that choice set will be assigned a value of 0.
At the time of survey completion (approximately 15 minutes)
Cannabis product use intentions
Time Frame: At the time of survey completion (approximately 15 minutes)
Binary measure using best-worst scaling. For each question, participants will also have the option of indicating none of the above/opt-out as a response. For each choice set, the statement selected as the best option will be coded using a value of 1, and the worst will be coded as -1. The remaining statements in that set will be coded as 0. If the participant selects none of the above, all statements in that choice set will be assigned a value of 0.
At the time of survey completion (approximately 15 minutes)

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

University of Oklahoma

Collaborators

National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Zachary Massey, PhD, University of Oklahoma

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

May 20, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

September 30, 2026

Study Completion (Estimated)

September 30, 2026

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

July 7, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

July 7, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

July 14, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

July 14, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

July 7, 2026

Last Verified

July 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 17276
  • 1K01DA057395-01A1 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

UNDECIDED

IPD Plan Description

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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