Xing Jin, Shi Yuyan
Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health and Human Longevity Science, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA.
Addiction. 2025 Apr 24. doi: 10.1111/add.70086.
Recreational cannabis legalization has made high-potency cannabis products more readily available, raising public health concerns. While price-based taxes are common, potency-based taxes have been adopted as a potentially more effective approach to mitigate the harms associated with high-potency cannabis consumption. This study aimed to estimate and compare the effects of price- and potency-based taxes on cannabis purchase patterns.
In May 2024, we conducted an online Experimental Cannabis Marketplace experiment, where cannabis products varied in product categories, delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) levels, and prices. Participants completed hypothetical purchase sessions with varying tax rates and tax types. Potency-based taxes were designed to be higher for high-THC products and lower for low-THC products than price-based taxes. The Poisson random effects model was used to estimate the association between tax rates and each outcome for the two tax types. The Wald tests assessed differences in coefficients between the two tax types.
U.S. states with recreational cannabis legalization.
A total of 1250 adult cannabis users.
Cannabis purchase patterns, including quantity demanded, THC demanded, and expenses.
For both price- and potency-based taxes, a higher tax rate was associated with a lower quantity demanded (total, by product category, and by THC level), lower total THC demanded, increased total expenses, and increased tax expenses (all ps < 0.01). The price elasticity of quantity demanded was estimated to be -0.46 and the price elasticity of THC demanded was estimated to be -0.48 to -0.52. Compared with price-based taxes, potency-based taxes were associated with a lower quantity demanded for high-THC products (elasticity for potency-based taxes = -0.59 and for price-based taxes = -0.49; p for elasticity difference = 0.046) and a lower proportion of total expenses on high-THC products (elasticity for potency-based taxes = -0.11 and for price-based taxes = -0.05; p for elasticity difference = 0.028). No differences were observed between the two tax types in quantity demanded for all products, total THC demanded, or total expenses.
Potency-based taxes on cannabis products appear to be more effective at reducing demand for high-potency products compared with price-based taxes.
休闲大麻合法化使得高效能大麻产品更容易获得，引发了公众对健康的担忧。虽然基于价格的税收很常见，但基于效力的税收已被采用，作为一种可能更有效的方法来减轻与高效能大麻消费相关的危害。本研究旨在估计和比较基于价格和基于效力的税收对大麻购买模式的影响。
2024年5月，我们进行了一项在线实验性大麻市场实验，其中大麻产品在产品类别、δ-9-四氢大麻酚（THC）含量和价格方面各不相同。参与者完成了不同税率和税种的假设购买环节。基于效力的税收设计为，对于高THC产品税率较高，对于低THC产品税率低于基于价格的税收。采用泊松随机效应模型估计两种税种的税率与各结果之间的关联。通过Wald检验评估两种税种系数的差异。
休闲大麻合法化的美国各州。
共1250名成年大麻使用者。
大麻购买模式，包括需求量、THC需求量和支出。
对于基于价格和基于效力的税收，税率越高，需求量越低（总量、按产品类别和按THC含量），总THC需求量越低，总支出增加，税收支出增加（所有p值<0.01）。需求量的价格弹性估计为-0.46，THC需求量的价格弹性估计为-0.48至-0.52。与基于价格的税收相比，基于效力 的税收与高THC产品的较低需求量相关（基于效力的税收弹性=-0.59，基于价格的税收弹性=-0.49；弹性差异p值=0.046），以及高THC产品总支出的较低比例（基于效力的税收弹性=-0.11，基于价格的税收弹性=-0.05；弹性差异p值=0.028）。在所有产品的需求量、总THC需求量或总支出方面，两种税种之间未观察到差异。
与基于价格的税收相比，基于效力的大麻产品税收在减少对高效能产品的需求方面似乎更有效。
