Developing a Mock Retail Cannabis Shop for Research: A Description of The CANNEX

Cannabis retail dispensaries have proliferated in the United States in recent years, making it an important time for conducting research. Research is needed to learn more about consumer purchasing behaviors, including the impact of product marketing both inside and outside of retail spaces, and studies are needed to explore how both consumers and retail staff interpret the health benefits and potential risks associated with cannabis products within these environments. Current research on cannabis dispensaries often involves surveys or interviews with customers and dispensary staff outside of dispensary environments, but much can be learned through observational and experimental methods within dispensaries themselves. However, researchers have traditionally relied on surveillance methods, where researchers visit dispensaries to gain a deeper understanding of real-world encounters in these environments. Although these methods provide helpful insights into purchasing and selling behavior, as well as regulatory compliance, these studies are conducted in an uncontrolled environment, as products, messaging, and interactions are specific to the dispensaries in which the research is conducted.

We therefore created a mock cannabis dispensary to offer participants a retail experience that can be controlled and manipulated (e.g., adjustable cannabis product prices, placement of health and risk information in the dispensary, scripted interactions with dispensary staff) to help balance ecological and internal validity and answer questions about purchasing and selling behavior beyond what current methods allow.

We describe the process of developing and stocking the first known mock cannabis dispensary for research purposes, the Cannabis Annex ("The CANNEX"), including interior design, product selection, feedback solicitation from 20 cannabis industry workers, and plans for future research studies within the environment.

By describing our process, we hope to aid researchers in developing their own similar mock dispensaries to continue learning about the health benefits, risks from use, and policy implications of cannabis in an increasingly legal recreational atmosphere.