Cannabis-Derived Product Types, Flavors, and Compound Types From an E-Commerce Website

Area of Science:

• E-commerce analytics
• Cannabis product classification
• Market research

Background:

• Cannabis-derived products (CDPs) are diverse and widely available.
• A lack of research exists to classify CDPs based on e-commerce data.
• Classification is crucial for comparative research and understanding market trends.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze a large e-commerce marketplace for cannabis products.
• To identify and characterize CDP types, flavors, and cannabinoid compounds.
• To establish a foundation for future comparative cannabis research.

Main Methods:

• Qualitative study involving data mining of Weedmaps e-commerce listings in the US (Sept-Nov 2023).
• Extracted product listings and descriptions for analysis.
• Grouped CDPs into product, flavor, and cannabinoid compound categories.

Main Results:

• Analyzed 501,012 unique US CDP listings.
• Common routes of administration included multisystem, respiratory, and digestive.
• Lemon, cake, and strawberry were the most frequent flavors; Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol was the most common cannabinoid.

Conclusions:

• This study provides a comprehensive classification of over half a million CDPs.
• Results support comparative studies on product availability and market characteristics.
• Findings can inform market surveillance and policy development for legal cannabis.