Cannabis Regulatory Confusion and Its Impact on Consumer Adoption |
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| Authors: | Stephanie Geiger-Oneto Robert Sprague |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Associate Professor of Marketing, University of Wyoming College of Business.;2. Professor of Legal Studies in Business, University of Wyoming College of Business. An earlier version of this article was presented at the Legal, Ethical, and Compliance Issues in Emerging Markets: Cannabis in the States symposium, cosponsored by the Center for Legal Studies & Business Ethics in the Spears School of Business at Oklahoma State University and the American Business Law Journal. The authors greatly appreciate the constructive feedback they received from the other symposium participants. |
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| Abstract: | The regulation of cannabis in the United States is inconsistent and contradictory, to put it mildly. While marijuana remains classified as a Schedule I substance under the federal Controlled Substance Act—in the same category as heroin and morphine, with accompanying criminal penalties up to and including life imprisonment for its production, distribution, and possession—as of the end of 2020, eleven states and the District of Columbia had legalized recreational marijuana use and thirty-six states and the District of Columbia had decriminalized the use of marijuana for medical purposes. Despite the trend toward legalization, however, marijuana is a stigmatized product. Stigmatized products are those toward which a significant portion of consumers hold negative attitudes and beliefs, whereas the concept of legitimacy is defined as a generalized perception or assumption that the actions of an entity are desirable, proper, or appropriate within some socially constructed system of norms, values, beliefs, and definitions. This article addresses how current legislation and regulations influence consumer perceptions of a product category, and how conflicting regulations (or the lack of regulations) influence the adoption of a stigmatized product such as cannabis (i.e., marijuana and cannabidiol products) |
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