By Study Shows Full Consumer Support for QR Code Safeguards
A new study conducted by Cannabis Public Policy Consulting found that 100% of respondents viewed state-issued QR codes as making them feel more protected by their state cannabis regulator. The study, commissioned by seed-to-sale technology company Metrc, surveyed over 3,000 recent cannabis consumers and medical cannabis patients across 33 U.S. jurisdictions with some form of legal cannabis access.
Respondents were shown a cannabis product featuring an interactive state-issued QR code linked to detailed product, testing, and licensing information. They were then asked about their perceptions of the information and the value of access to it.
Beyond the unanimous response on feeling protected, 91% indicated the QR codes helped them better understand consumer safeguards and standards. Nearly 89% reported that the codes increased their confidence in their state’s legal cannabis market.
The study is titled “Transparency as Value: Past-Month Cannabis Consumer & Patient Responses to QR Code-Enabled Cannabis Product Information.” It measured how consumers and patients value access to state-verified product information.
What Consumers Value Most
The study broke down which specific elements of QR code information respondents valued. 91% of respondents reported valuing state confirmation that a product is compliant, while 89% reported valuing lab testing results.
Another 88% reported valuing recall notifications, and 86% reported valuing detailed product information, including licensing details and cannabinoid and terpene profiles. Eighty-eight percent of participants reported that having access to the information would help them distinguish regulated products from unregulated products.
Nearly 90% reported that having access to the QR code functionality would make them more likely to purchase from a licensed dispensary rather than an unlicensed source. The study also found broad support for making state-issued QR code transparency a standard feature across regulated cannabis products.
More than 95% of respondents agreed that consumers should have the same level of information regardless of product type.
The results indicate consumers want uniform transparency standards across the regulated market.
Researchers Point to Trusted Sources
Mackenzie Slade, MPH, principal investigator at Cannabis Public Policy Consulting, said what stood out to researchers “is that consumers and patients appear to value more than simply having access to expanded product information; they value knowing that the information comes from a trusted regulatory source,” in a press release.
“In a market where regulated and unregulated products can be difficult for consumers to distinguish, a state-issued QR code provides an immediately recognizable signal that a product is part of the regulated system,” Slade said in the press release.
Slade added that the findings are consistent with current literature on signaling theory, suggesting that consumers value both sides of that transparency: access to information about the product itself and greater visibility into the regulatory system behind it.
The study was commissioned by Metrc, a seed-to-sale technology company that provides track-and-trace systems used by state regulators. The research covered jurisdictions with some form of legal cannabis access.
