Copycat and lookalike edible cannabis product packaging in the United States.
Recent media reports have highlighted copycatlookalike cannabis edibles as a public health concern. No empirical papers have described this phenomenon. From May 2020-August 2021, we collected photos of cannabis products via an online survey of cannabis users and through personal contacts. Copycatlookalike products are defined as those that use the same or similar brand name, logo, andor imagery as an existing commercial non-cannabis counterpart (CNCC). We assessed each package for similarities with its CNCC with respect to brand name, product name, font, color, flavors, and brandpromotional characters. We examined cannabis content indicators including THC content per package and serving, cannabis leaf symbol, product warnings, cannabis terms, cannabis motifs, activation time, and guidance on edible use. We collected photos of 731 cannabis products 267 (36%) were edibles of which 22 (8%) represented 13 unique copycatlookalike products. Eight used exact brandproduct names as existing CNCCs, and five used similar names. Packages copied or imitated a mean of 3.9 of six features and indicated cannabis content with a mean of 4.1 of eight features. Thirteen packages indicated a mean THC content of 459 mgpackage. Four reported THC dose per serving, with a mean dose of 47.5 mg. Our content analysis highlights three key concerns. First, copycatlookalike edibles subtly indicate cannabis content while using high fidelity replication or imitation of their CNCC. Second, THC content is high and there were multiple 10 mg THC doses in the equivalent of 1 serving of a CNCC. Third, these products may be attractive to children.