Table 5.
Codebook for quantitative content analysis
| Variable | Description | Violation type |
|---|---|---|
| Animals |
Images of animals; statements about animals Also includes: cartoons and drawings; illustrations of insects (like bees and caterpillars) if they look like they might be appealing to children Exclude: all other images of insects Examples: Photo of dog, cartoon character of any animal (e.g., dog, cat, Garfield, Kermit the Frog) |
Appealing to youth |
| Likeness |
Likeness to images, characters, or phrases that are designed in any manner to be appealing to or encourage consumption of persons under 21 years of age. Also, images, characters, or phrases that are popularly used to advertise to children Also includes: references to characters, TV shows, or movies that are watched by children Exclude: images of edibles like cookies, brownies, gummies unless they look like products that are specifically marketed to children (e.g., gummies that look like animals, gummies that look like Sour Patch Kid candies) Examples: Image of edible candy next to brands of candy that are sold to children (e.g., Starbursts, M&M’s, Sour Patch Kids) “May the terps always be in your favor” with an image of a Star Wars character |
Appealing to youth |
| Name |
Name of strain (flower, vaporizer, or concentrate) that could be appealing to children Exclude: edibles Examples: Applejacks, Girl Scout Cookies, Juicy Fruit, blueberry pie, bubblegum, cookies and cream, mango |
Appealing to youth |
| Child |
Image of child; statements about children or references to children (< 18 years old) Excludes: posts about children with illnesses that are treated with cannabis (e.g., autism, epilepsy) Examples: How to talk to your children about cannabis, image of a family that includes a child |
Appealing to youth |
| Cartoons |
Drawing or depiction of object, person, animal, creature, or similar caricature that has exaggerated features, applying human characteristics to animals or inanimate objects, or giving extra-human abilities/super powers. Also, any cartoon characters from a TV show that children watch. Excludes: standard emojis (e.g., yellow smiley face) Examples: Scooby Do, Snoopy, drawing of pot leaf with googly eyes, image of animal with a hat, drawing of person flying |
Appealing to youth |
| Packaging |
Any packaging or labeling that bears reasonable resemblance to any product available for consumption as a commercially available candy, or that promotes consumption of cannabis Example: Edible chocolates that look like Hersey’s kisses |
Appealing to youth |
| Toy |
Image of a toy Also includes: Photos, cartoons, and drawings Excludes: bicycle, sporting equipment (e.g., bat, soccer ball). The exception is a child’s bike or sporting equipment (t-ball) Examples: Doll, stuffed animal, G.I. Joe, action figure, LEGOS, hot wheels, Crayons, Play-Doh, board games usually played by children (Candy Land), children’s book |
Appealing to youth |
| Famous |
People who are famous, including musicians, actors, professional athletes, comedians, and reality stars Excludes: Politicians unless they meet the inclusion criteria (e.g., Arnold Schwarzenegger) Examples: Snoop Dogg, Dave Chappelle, Kim Kardashian, Michael Phelps |
Appealing to youth |
| Young_adult |
Professional images of young adults (~21–25) Excludes: Pictures with multiple people of all age groups and pictures of employees or customers |
Appealing to youth |
| Activity_child |
Promotional activities or events that could be appealing to children (National Cancer Institute 2008) Examples: Ice cream social, magic show, and carnival games |
Appealing to youth |
| Activity_youth |
Promotional activities or events that could be appealing to adolescents (Pollay 1995; Pacula et al. 2014; Kees et al. 2020; The National Academies and of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine 2017; Silins et al. 2014; Fergusson and Boden 2008; Gobbi et al. 2019; Paruk and Burns 2016) Examples: Festival, concert |
Appealing to youth |
| Anxiety |
Makes any health, medical, or therapeutic claims related to anxiety. Excludes: Stress and worrying |
Health claim |
| Stress |
Makes any health, medical, or therapeutic claims related to stress Excludes: Anxiety and worrying Example: “Certain strains of cannabis are best for reducing stress” |
Health claim |
| Depression |
Makes any health, medical, or therapeutic claims related to depression Example: “Studies suggest CBD is a fast-acting anti-depressant” |
Health claim |
| PTSD |
Makes any health, medical, or therapeutic claims related to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) Example: “One study suggests that cannabis can reduce PTSD symptoms by 50%” |
Health claim |
| Epilepsy |
Makes any health, medical, or therapeutic claims related to epilepsy Example: “Epilepsy is highly responsive to weed” |
Health claim |
| Diabetes |
Makes any health, medical, or therapeutic claims related to diabetes Example: “Using cannabis has been shown to prevent diabetes” |
Health claim |
| Cancer |
Makes any health, medical, or therapeutic claims related to treating the symptoms of cancer or symptoms from cancer treatment Also includes: statements about cannabis being “anti-cancer” Excludes: Claims only related to killing cancer cells |
Health claim |
| Cells |
Makes any health, medical, or therapeutic claims related to killing/preventing growth of tumor or cancer cells Excludes: Ambiguous comments of “anti-cancer” or “anti-tumor” |
Health claim |
| Sleep |
Makes any health, medical, or therapeutic claims related to sleep Excludes: General statements about sedation that does not include sleep |
Health claim |
| Insomnia | Makes any health, medical, or therapeutic claims about insomnia | Health claim |
| Chronic_pain |
Makes any health, medical, or therapeutic claims related to chronic pain Also includes: Statements about using cannabis for pain management Excludes: Pain that is a result of another illness (these will only be coded under that illness) |
Health claim |
| Pain |
Makes any health, medical, or therapeutic claims about general pain Excludes: Chronic pain or pain from an illness/disease/condition Example: “Cannabis can help with everyday aches and pains” |
Health claim |
| MS | Makes any health, medical, or therapeutic claims related to multiple sclerosis | Health claim |
| Hypertension |
Makes any health, medical, or therapeutic claims related to hypertension Example: “A new study finds CBD can lower your blood pressure” |
Health claim |
| ADHD | Makes any health, medical, or therapeutic claims related to attention hyperactivity deficit disorder (ADHD) | Health claim |
| Autism |
Makes any health, medical, or therapeutic claims related to autism Example: “Studies have shown that cannabis can lead to behavior improvements for children with autism” |
Health claim |
| Neuropathy |
Makes any health, medical, or therapeutic claims related to neuropathy Example: “Studies have shown that cannabinoids can reduce pain from neuropathy” |
Health claim |
| IBS |
Makes any health, medical, or therapeutic claims related to irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) Example: “Can cannabis help with IBS?” with link to article about how cannabis can improve IBS |
Health claim |
| Crohns |
Makes any health, medical, or therapeutic claims related to Crohn’s disease Example: “People with Crohn’s disease report improved symptoms after using cannabis” |
Health claim |
| Migraine | Makes any health, medical, or therapeutic claims related to migraines | Health claim |
| Asthma | Makes any health, medical, or therapeutic claims related to asthma | Health claim |
| Alzheimers |
Makes any health, medical, or therapeutic claims related to Alzheimer’s disease Excludes: General claims about memory or aging |
Health claim |
| HIV/AIDS | Makes any health, medical, or therapeutic claims related to HIV/AIDS | Health claim |
| Dystonia | Makes any health, medical, or therapeutic claims related to dystonia | Health claim |
| Glaucoma | Makes any health, medical, or therapeutic claims related to glaucoma | Health claim |
| Lupus | Makes any health, medical, or therapeutic claims related to lupus | Health claim |
| Parkinsons | Makes any health, medical, or therapeutic claims related to Parkinson’s disease | Health claim |
| Seizures | Makes any health, medical, or therapeutic claims related to seizures | Health claim |
| TBI | Makes any health, medical, or therapeutic claims about traumatic brain injuries | Health claim |
| Tourette’s | Makes any health, medical, or therapeutic claims related to Tourette’s syndrome | Health claim |
| Colitis | Makes any health, medical, or therapeutic claims related to ulcerative colitis | Health claim |
| Arthritis | Makes any health, medical, or therapeutic claims related to arthritis | Health claim |
| Weight |
Makes any health, medical, or therapeutic claims related to losing or maintaining weight. Examples include weight loss, maintaining a healthy weight, or treating/reducing obesity Excludes: weight gain from overeating, treating anorexia, or weight loss from an illness |
Health claim |
| ALS | Makes any health, medical, or therapeutic claims related to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)/Lou Gehrig’s disease | Health claim |
| Anorexia | Makes any health, medical, or therapeutic claims related to anorexia | |
| Fibro | Makes any health, medical, or therapeutic claims related to fibromyalgia | Health claim |
| Inflammation | Makes any health, medical or therapeutic claim related to reducing inflammation in general (not tied to other illness/disease/condition) | Health claim |
| Muscle | Makes any health, medical or therapeutic claim related to muscle relaxation and muscle soreness | Health claim |
| Exercise | Makes claim that using cannabis can enhance/improve exercise | Health claim |
| Memory | Makes general claim (not tied to specific illness) that cannabis use can improve memory or prevent memory loss | Health claim |
| Energy |
Make claim that using cannabis will increase energy Excludes: alertness |
Health claim |
| Mood |
Makes general claim (not tied to specific illness) that cannabis use can improve/enhance mood Also includes: uplifting effects |
Health claim |
| Productive | Makes claim that using cannabis will make you more productive | Health claim |
| Focus | Makes claim that using cannabis will improve focus or attention | Health claim |
| Relaxed | Makes claim that using cannabis will make you feel more relaxed, calm, soothed, makes you feel more carefree/worry-free, include “help make you more chill” | Health claim |
| Dehiscence | Makes any health, medical or therapeutic claim related to superior canal dehiscence syndrome | Health claim |
| Spinal | Makes any health, medical or therapeutic claim related to spinal cord injury | Health claim |
| Spino | Makes any health, medical or therapeutic claim related to spinocerebellar ataxia | Health claim |
| Arach | Makes any health, medical or therapeutic claim related to arachnoiditis | Health claim |
| Sjogren | Makes any health, medical or therapeutic claim related to Sjogren’s Syndrome | Health claim |
| Limb | Makes any health, medical or therapeutic claim related to residual limb pain | Health claim |
| Reflex | Makes any health, medical or therapeutic claim related to reflex sympathetic dystrophy | Health claim |
| Kidney | Makes any health, medical or therapeutic claim related to polycystic kidney disease | Health claim |
| Neurofib | Makes any health, medical or therapeutic claim related to neurofibromatosis | Health claim |
| Behcet | Makes any health, medical or therapeutic claim related to Neuro-Behcet’s disease | Health claim |
| Patella | Makes any health, medical or therapeutic claim related to nail-patella syndrome | Health claim |
| Myoclonus | Makes any health, medical or therapeutic claim related to myoclonus | Health claim |
| Gravis | Makes any health, medical or therapeutic claim related to myasthenia gravis | Health claim |
| MuscularD | Makes any health, medical or therapeutic claim related to muscular dystrophy | Health claim |
| Interstitial | Makes any health, medical or therapeutic claim related to interstitial cystitis | Health claim |
| Hydro | Makes any health, medical or therapeutic claim related to hydromyelia | Health claim |
| Hydrocephalus | Makes any health, medical or therapeutic claim related to hydrocephalus | Health claim |
| Hepc | Makes any health, medical or therapeutic claim related to hepatitis c virus | Health claim |
| FibroD | Makes any health, medical or therapeutic claim related to fibrous dysplasia | Health claim |
| EDS | Makes any health, medical or therapeutic claim related to Ehlers-Danlos syndrome | Health claim |
| Dyskinesia | Makes any health, medical or therapeutic claim related to dyskinesia | Health claim |
| CIDP | Makes any health, medical or therapeutic claim related to chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy | Health claim |
| Syringomyelia | Makes any health, medical or therapeutic claim related to syringomyelia | Health claim |
| Arnold | Makes any health, medical or therapeutic claim related to Arnold Chiari malformation | Health claim |
| Causalgia | Makes any health, medical or therapeutic claim related to Causalgia | Health claim |
| Other_hc |
Other health, medicinal, or therapeutic claim. Includes health claims related to animals. Exclude: vague references to medicine, healing, wellness |
Health claim |
| Other_hc |
Other health, medicinal, or therapeutic claim. Includes health claims related to animals. Exclude: vague references to medicine, healing, wellness |
Health claim |
| Consumption |
Depiction of someone consuming or in the process of consuming cannabis Also, includes: photos, drawings, cartoons, videos; animals or characters consuming cannabis Exclude: pre-rolls if not lit Examples: Video of someone using a bong, pictures of someone holding a vape pen as if they are in the process of smoking, cartoon person smoking, someone eating an edible cookie they baked in how-to video, someone holding a lit pre-roll as if they are smoking it |
Other Violations |
| Leaf |
Image of cannabis leaf or bud. For cannabis leaf, only include images that very clearly shown the iconic outline. For logos, do not code when just logo in profile pic, but do code when prominent in a post or picture Also includes: an image of a leaf or bud on a product Excludes: image of plant, variations in logos that look slightly like a leaf but not exactly |
Other Violations |
| Overconsumption |
Promotes overconsumption of cannabis products. Includes consuming edibles >10 mg in one sitting, promoting use every day, or references to being high all or most of time Examples: Shows or describes someone as or becoming “extremely high/stoned/baked”; joke about becoming “too high” to do X or “so high” that X happens |
Other Violations |
| Bundling |
Bundling different cannabis products for one price Excludes: bundling products for medical patients Example: vape pen and joint for $5 |
Other Violations |
| Give_away |
Giving away cannabis products for free Excludes: buy one get one free sales, raffles that do not include cannabis products, giveaways for medical patients Examples: raffle, free samples, contest, lottery, sweepstakes |
Other Violations |
| Games |
Conducting games or competitions related to consumption Example: taking a hit of weed every time you lose in a game |
Other Violations |
| Not_coded |
Any post or tweet/retweet that is not coded anywhere else Examples: news article about the history of cannabis, interview with dispensary business owner, social equity loans (financing), cannabis industry profits, hours of operation, COVID guidelines |
N/A |