Cannabis News of Note:
Washington Business Journal: MainStreet Bank backs away from cannabis banking initiative as it eyes M&A (paywalled, article attached)
Cannabis Wire Daily: Scoop: Consumer Brands Association joins the chorus on banning industrial hemp. (paywalled/newsletter for 10/28, text below)
—
Cannabis Wire Daily (10/28): NIDA-backed clinical trial will test how mental health marketing shapes cannabis buying habits.
Trustees of Dartmouth College are sponsoring a clinical trial that aims to investigate the “influence of psychotherapeutic advertising claims” and “mental health warning labels” and online cannabis purchasing behaviors among cannabis consumers that also have depression and/or anxiety.
Researchers will recruit 2,000 participants who will “shop” at a “realistic” online cannabis store. Participants will be randomly assigned to one of four experiences: one that shows basic product descriptions, another that includes marketing claims about mental health benefits, another that has warning labels about the potential for THC’s negative effects related to depression and anxiety, and one that has both claims and warnings.
Participants will then browse and select products as if they were making real-world purchases, and researchers will track the total amount of THC selected, the strength of products, and how many items participants purchase.
The trial will seek to determine whether psychotherapeutic ad claims makes cannabis purchasing more likely, and whether a warning label can “mitigate this effect.”
“The findings have the potential to inform the development of targeted interventions and policies to reduce harms associated with cannabis advertising-ultimately contributing to better health outcomes and more effective regulation,” the trial notice notes.
This trial, for which the National Institute on Drug Abuse is a collaborator, expects to wrap up next year.