Online Cannabis Marketing Practices and Regulatory Compliance: A Surveillance Study Across 5 US Cities in States with Different Cannabis Regulations.

Cui Y.; LoParco C.; Speer M.; McCready D.; Yang Y.; Wang Y.; Johnson M.; Amdeta H.; Mihelich D.; Ndisebuye D. et al. · Substance use & addiction journal · 2026

**Background & Methods** This surveillance study examined online cannabis marketing practices across 171 retailer websites in 5 US cities (Denver, Seattle, Portland, Las Vegas, and Los Angeles) with varying regulatory environments. Researchers assessed age verification, online sales capabilities, product types, marketing claims, and warning labels, with comparative analyses conducted between 2022 and 2025 datasets (N=130 for longitudinal comparison). **Key Findings** • High implementation of age verification (83.6%) and online sales capabilities (96.5%) in 2025, with substantial variation in warning label display across cities (57.6-96.9% for health/safety warnings; 41.9-71.9% for regulation-related warnings). Most retailers promoted health benefits including sleep (58.5%) and pain relief (48.5%), concentrated in Denver, Las Vegas, and Los Angeles. • Targeted marketing toward specific populations increased significantly from 2022 to 2025, including veterans/military (28.5% to 40.0%), seniors (4.6% to 27.7%), LGBTQ+ individuals (5.4% to 13.1%), and racial/ethnic minorities (4.6% to 19.2%). Las Vegas and Los Angeles showed highest targeting of vulnerable populations. • Aggressive pricing strategies were prevalent, with 78.9% offering daily/weekly/monthly specials and 75.4% featuring membership/loyalty programs. Product diversification increased substantially, particularly in beverage offerings (74.6% in 2022 vs 90.0% in 2025). **Dosage & Administration** Not reported. **Safety & Adverse Effects** Not reported. Study focused on marketing practices and regulatory compliance rather than clinical outcomes or adverse effects. **Evidence Quality** This cross-sectional surveillance study provides descriptive data on marketing practices but carries significant limitations. The retrospective design and reliance on website content analysis may not capture full marketing strategies. Small sample sizes per city limit generalizability, and the study lacks comparison to actual consumer exposure or behavioral outcomes. No control groups or randomization. The 3-year gap between data collection periods (2022-2025) may not reflect current practices. As a surveillance study without clinical endpoints, this represents low-to-moderate evidence quality suitable for hypothesis generation and policy recommendations rather than establishing causal relationships. Authors appropriately conclude that stronger regulatory frameworks are needed.

More recent cannabis research