Lessons Learned in Developing a Behavioral Economic Measure of Cannabis Use Using a Predominantly White Sample

Area of Science:

• Addiction research
• Behavioral economics
• Cannabis use studies

Background:

• Behavioral economic approaches offer a validated, low-cost method for assessing hazardous cannabis use risk.
• The Marijuana Purchase Task (MPT) is a widely used measure with established psychometric properties.
• Preliminary findings suggest potential improvements to the MPT's ecological validity and participant acceptability.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a revised Marijuana Purchase Task (MPT) incorporating a modern dispensary scenario.
• To enhance the ecological validity and acceptability of cannabis demand measurement.
• To better reflect national trends in cannabis consumption, including diverse product forms.

Main Methods:

• A revised Marijuana Purchase Task (MPT) was developed using a contemporary dispensary setting.
• The study utilized a predominantly White convenience sample.
• Data were collected to assess cannabis demand using the updated task.

Main Results:

• Participant inattentiveness potentially impacted demand measures due to increased task length and complexity.
• Challenges were noted in participants estimating monthly cannabis purchases.
• The revised MPT aims to improve the reflection of naturalistic cannabis use patterns.

Conclusions:

• Future cannabis demand assessment should minimize participant burden and consider higher price ceilings.
• Incorporating person-level factors is crucial for accurately assessing cannabis demand.
• Lessons learned will inform more ecologically valid and acceptable methods for measuring cannabis use risk.