Ventresca Matt, Elliott Charlene
Department of Communication, Media, and Film, University of Calgary, Canada.
Department of Communication, Media, and Film, University of Calgary, Canada.
Int J Drug Policy. 2022 May;103:103645. doi: 10.1016/j.drugpo.2022.103645. Epub 2022 Mar 9.
Cannabis edibles were legalized for recreational use across Canada in October 2019. The Canadian Cannabis Act requires legally produced edibles to be sold in plain single-color packages with limited branded elements and prominent health warning labels, serving size and nutritional information, and product ingredients including amounts of cannabis compounds. Little research, however, assesses what consumers think of standardized packaging, and how product packaging influences perceptions of cannabis edibles.
Eight focus groups with young adults (ages 18-24; n = 57) were conducted in November 2018. Participants were recruited from a Canadian university, and asked to assess sample images of cannabis packaging approved by Health Canada. They then discussed the information they would like to see on packages. Focus group discussions were transcribed and analyzed using a descriptive, qualitative approach following methods of process evaluation and inductive coding.
Discussions generally pertained to four main themes: dosage and consumption recommendations; food and nutritional information; concerns for children; and health warning labels. Participants suggested improvements for cannabis packaging, including standardized THC units, non-numerical consumption instructions, and unit-dose packaging. Instead of recommending packaging that deters consumption, participants requested packaging features that promote safe consumption by adults while also protecting children. Findings reveal how packages function as communicative objects that convey meanings about safety and risk, yet these meanings may not resonate with Canadian young adults' perceptions of cannabis as relatively safe.
While the packaging regulated for use in Canada may be assumed, due to its plain, standardized format, to communicate "little", we highlight tensions in the meanings of such packaging to young adults-especially around competing ideas related to safety and risk.
2019年10月，大麻食品在加拿大全境被合法化用于娱乐用途。《加拿大大麻法案》要求合法生产的食品须以单一颜色的普通包装出售，品牌元素有限，并带有显著的健康警告标签、食用份量和营养信息，以及包括大麻化合物含量在内的产品成分。然而，很少有研究评估消费者对标准化包装的看法，以及产品包装如何影响对大麻食品的认知。
2018年11月开展了8个针对年轻人（18至24岁；n = 57）的焦点小组讨论。参与者从一所加拿大大学招募，被要求评估加拿大卫生部批准的大麻包装样本图片。然后，他们讨论了希望在包装上看到的信息。焦点小组讨论内容经转录后，采用过程评估和归纳编码方法，运用描述性定性方法进行分析。
讨论主要围绕四个主题：剂量和食用建议；食品和营养信息；对儿童的担忧；以及健康警告标签。参与者提出了大麻包装的改进建议，包括标准化的四氢大麻酚单位、非数字形式的食用说明和单位剂量包装。参与者没有建议采用能抑制消费的包装，而是要求包装具备一些特征，既能促进成年人安全消费，又能保护儿童。研究结果揭示了包装如何作为传达安全和风险含义的交流对象发挥作用，但这些含义可能与加拿大年轻人认为大麻相对安全的认知并不相符。
虽然加拿大规定使用的包装因其简洁、标准化的形式可能被认为传达的“信息很少”，但我们强调了这种包装对年轻人而言在含义上存在的矛盾之处，尤其是在与安全和风险相关的相互冲突的观念方面。
