Table 3.

Study Themes and Representative Quotes Concerning Purchasing Behaviors of Persons who use Cannabis without MCC

Sub-Theme	ID #	Quote
Theme: Regular purchasing routines
Purchasing frequency	1	I usually buy anywhere from one to three times a week, depending on how heavily I’m using
	5	Every week or couple weeks.
	7	Every day, almost
	9	If I’m smoking regularly, maybe once a week or once every two weeks for the—for that duration of time
	10	I usually get it four—, I’m pretty consistent with four days.
	11	Every day, unless I buy a quarter for the week
	14	If I had unlimited money, I could probably do,—a comfortable thing would be an eighth every day. A little more….But, right now I’m an eighth every other day. So every two days I’ll probably get an eighth.
	16	Four—I’d say four or five times—four times—four to five times a week.
	21	Yeah. I would say once a week.
	22	But usually just once a week. I know what I want.
	26	About once a month.
	27	It might be different amounts every day, but definitely every day. I’m a pothead, every day.
	28	Usually, once a week.
	30	A couple of times a week
	32	I would say maybe two or three times a week.
	33	I buy every few days
Purchasing schedule	2	I usually try to get some before I’m completely out.
	4	Running out
	15	Yeah, before I run out, usually
	17	I usually go by how much I have left.
	18	No particular schedule…and then I’ll try to go as long as possible without smoking.
	21	Pretty regular. I’d say go around between once a month to once a week. Kinda fluctuates.
	22	Overall I’m pretty set in my ways
	31	When you’re out.
Amount per purchase	1	Eighths, pretty much always.
	2	Half-ounce at a time every two weeks.
	3	There’s no set amount.
	6	Half-ounce.
	8	I usually get eighth, quarter.
	9	Anywhere from a gram to a quarter….An eighth or a Q or something.
	10	A quarter ounce. …I’d say the eighth is probably the most popular thing to go, the most go-to
	11	It depends on the day…Sometimes when I hit the lottery or no. Just kidding. [Laughter] It just depends on the money situation. Bills and—…So, like, today I get a 20, but Friday I might get a quarter.…Half-ounce, ounce….I get medical grade—if I buy an ounce for 220, which if I buy an eighth, it’s 40, so it’s worth spending the extra money to – but then I end up smoking more
	12	Varies
	14	Right now I’m an eighth every other day. You know?
	16	Cuz I’m cheap—I don’t even wanna buy more than a 20 sack…—a half eighth, probably he gives me 1.7.
	17	Usually if I—when I buy bigger amounts I find that I smoke more.… I almost went through an eighth in like two hours. And I was like whoa, okay. Time to step back.
	29	About an ounce at a time
	33	I buy every few days. I buy 20 at a time
Theme: Economic factors affecting cannabis purchasing behaviors
Finances/cost	1	$100.00 for five months.
	3	$35.00 to $40.00.
	4	I want to get a 20 bag, I might buy a 20 bag, but usually, I’ll purchase in bulk—just for cost’s sake and convenience, really. Depends how much money I have. Between two and $700.00
	5	How much money you have. $20.00.
	6	Depending how much money you have, honestly….You really do what you want depending on how much money you have, find out what you’re dealing with. Like, $40.00.
	7	Depends on what you get, you know? Might spend 10 on a gram, 40 on a eighth. You know?
	10	I’m definitely all about the money on that one.
	11	Lately I haven’t had a lotta money, so I’ve been buying a 20 sack to get me through the day. But usually, when my boyfriend and I are both working, we buy a quarter or maybe a little more a week. But, lately it’s been day to day cuz we’ve been temping. So - I spend 15 on a gram, 40 on an eighth, 20 for 1.8.
	14	Yeah. Money—money’s definitely—
	21	I’d say $20.00 would be the average.
	22	Between $40, $80.00, depending on what we get.
	24	I get about $50.00 a week. Because you figure four days a week, so.
	27	It depends on how much money I got at the beginning of the week.
Factors affecting cost	4	If you go to a dispensary, if they have some Betty kush or something, something made up by some dude, and then they have OG kush typically—I know at the dispensary, it’s usually somewhere between 15 and 17 bucks a gram, but for OG kush or Purple Urkle, it’s up to 27, 30 bucks a gram. It gets kind of excessive, especially in the medical marijuana market.
	5	It’s really all just weight, and then I think if somebody’s trying to make more money off of shitty weed, then they’ll just sell you shitty weed for the same price.
	11	It’s really expensive in Massachusetts. I’m from there, and when I was living there, I was paying 55 an eighth of good bud. …I get medical grade. If I buy an ounce for 220, which if I buy an eighth, it’s 40, so it’s worth spending the extra money
	12	It’s more the quality of it….If I’m goin’ in on a bulk of some sort, then yeah. But, you see who’s tryin’ to get it. They’ll pool in some money.
	13	Our dealer’s straight out of the Pineapple Express and really wants to be friends with us. And he tries to have us watch TV with him and shit.…But it’s cool cuz he really likes us, so I notice that we’ve been kinda getting more for a better price.
	15	I would say that like what he said, when I was back home, I was buying dimes and dubs cuz eighths were $50.00, but now that I’m here, I can get eighths for 35, and then that’ll be cool with me.
	16	It’s always cheaper, the more you buy.
	17	Sometimes for some dealers it might be the strain.
	18	I know it depends on the area, too.
	19	And the only thing that’s changed is the fact that you can get it medically for that cheap, and that so many people have been able to obtain medical cards, grow it out of their own home, so then you call all these assholes out of the middle. And…the supply and demand [sic] completely changes at that point. Just because there’s way more supply of it now, so the demand stays the same. But since the supply goes up it lowers the cost cuz you can get it from anywhere and everywhere….So that’s why it’s completely changed in the last couple of years, is because of that reason. The demand is always going to be the same-same demand, I mean you can change that a little bit by changing the supply. Because if there’s not as much with it, like before when it was a criminal offense and it wasn’t medical and the other thing, the supply was always the same, but the risk was larger also, you know?…So the thing is you’re not like I need to make $200.00 extra on this thing to go and try to spend, to save it for if I end up going to prison or something like that…like there’s all sorts of different underlying factors that would change the price. For instance, like cocaine, it’s not more expensive because of what it is, it’s more expensive because of the amount of felonies you get from it.
	22	Obviously if you need to buy more you’re gonna get a little better price.
	27	If you can buy over an ounce you’re getting some good prices.
	28	Prices in general have gone way down in just the last two years….I think we’ve gotten a lot better about medical marijuana here, it was decriminalized here in 2013…so after it got decriminalized, everything went way down.
	32	I feel like those prices would be if you know the person.
Effects of price increase	11	It’s really expensive in Massachusetts. I’m from there, and when I was living there, I was paying 55 an eighth of good bud. And out here, so I used to drive to—my friend lives in [redacted location]. I used to drive to [redacted location], go get my weed, and then go home.
	16	You’re not paying any more…then I can go down the road and pay 40 here—
	28	Before, it was 50 [for an] eighth. Now, if you’re charging 40 an eighth, people will laugh in your face and walk away.
Theme: Contextual factors affecting cannabis purchasing behaviors
Quality of cannabis	4	If I find exceptional weed—, I don’t typically buy weed, but I actually bought weed today just because it was really good weed, so I was like I’ll buy some weed. So I bought an ounce of that, but that’ll last me a while….If you go to a dispensary, if they have some Betty kush or something, something made up by some dude, and then they have OG kush typically—I know at the dispensary, it’s usually somewhere between 15 and 17 bucks a gram, but for OG kush or Purple Urkle, it’s up to 27, 30 bucks a gram. It gets kind of excessive, especially in the medical marijuana market.
	17	It’s usually if it’s something that they’re like this is some bomb shit and I have to up the price a little bit. But it never varies a lot. It’s usually every once in a while, it’s something really, really great.
	22	The only time I buy more than once a week [is] if someone calls or I know they might have something special, I might try them for a sample—- to see how it smokes. Maybe I’ll pick up something during the week and just take a couple puffs of it, and then decide if I wanna buy it when I make my major purchase at the end of the week. All right, you got that same stuff? Let me sample out and I’ll buy a quarter or a half ounce or something like that.…That usually tides me over. Quarter if it’s good stuff, a half—a half if it’s midgrade stuff.
	28	[Price differences are] usually, not by strain. Usually by quality.…So if you want super-dank shit, then that’ll run you 250, maybe even 300 an ounce, if they’re gouging you. But the best dude that I have charges 240 an ounce for his premium top-quality shit.
Convenience/Availability	4	I want to get a 20 bag. I might buy a 20 bag, but usually, I’ll purchase in bulk - just for cost’s sake and convenience, really.
	6	420 birthdays
	16	the kid that—the kid I get it from lives close with me, so I don’t have to worry about going to get it, driving to go get it or this or that. So, probably four times a week.
	17	Well, currently as of right now, I know somebody who I can get medical for free right now, pretty much.
	18	Yeah, for me I used to at least buy at least two grams a week. But that’s when I lived with my friends, and I was doing that for six years. And I recently just moved back with my mom, so now I really don’t buy weed. And if I smoke it’s if I’m down in [redacted location] where people have it.
	21	If someone offers you a gift, you’re gonna take it. For sure
	22	Where you gonna keep it?
	24	Well, me and my roommate, we split it, so…four times a week we smoke. So I just give him—sometimes I give him $10.00 a day, twice, but then maybe 15.
	26	So I’m not really purchasing, but I’m using from other people….Yeah, when I’m at a festival or maybe something else and it’s offered to me from other people who already have…So I’m not really purchasing, but I’m using from other people.
	28	If they have multiples, then, yeah, I’ll usually get half of one, half of the other, and if I’m buying in bulk, it’s gotta be good. I gotta know what I’m getting. I gotta know that it’s gonna be worth the buy. Whereas, if I’m just grabbing a 20 off of someone, as long as it’s not dirt weed, it’s like I’m only out 20 bucks.
	31	So if we’re going to an event—Usually that’s where we’re on edibles or something. Something that you won’t have to worry about, and then it’ll take effects later….It depends on what’s available. It’s depending on who I go to. Some—one of my friends will get—like if I can get three or four different types at the same time, depending on what she has, and then I have another friend. It just depends on what it is in the cycle, so sometimes, if he, certain points have already—that he’s just cultivated that week, if he only has one strain, I’ll get an ounce of the one strain, but if he’s got a couple of different, I’ll get different—
Legal concerns	4	As long as you have less than 1,000 grams on you in Rhode Island, you’re not going to jail. You’re just paying fines. So—and if you have any weed at all, you’re paying at least $150.00 if you get pulled over. So, I think the most you’ll pay is $1,400.00 in fines or something, and that’s if you have 999 grams, which is a ton of weed 50 ounces of weed or something like that. That’s not right, but an excessive amount of weed. No one needs that much weed unless they’re selling that much weed.
	6	It’s almost legal everywhere.
	7	Not really [a concern], to be honest. Every time I get pulled over by a cop with weed, they—they don’t really give me a hard time, you know? If it’s a quarter, even a half, they don’t really give me a hard time. Just tell me to go home. That’s it.
	10	[Cops] are not really out for the potheads anymore.
	11	Drinking is worse….[Cops] are not as bad as they were. It’s just certain people [cops] wanna get. That’s it.
	14	I think of weed different. I smoked so long I just—I forget it’s illegal sometimes. I really do. I always have it on me. I don’t really hide it. I mean, it’s near me. If I get pulled over, I’ll try to do somethin’ with it, but— …Like someone said earlier, the cops really don’t even care. I think I’ve gotten pulled over and actually caught with weed three times—by state troopers, though—and they’ve let me go every time, so it’s not really that big of a deal.
	22	That’s that thin gray line between casual user and distributor.