A comparison of sales regulations across three types of cannabis dispensaries: First insights from the 'Züri Can' study

Background: Cannabis, the most widely used illegal psychoactive substance globally, is currently undergoing legalisation efforts in many countries, with a majority seeking regulations for the recreational cannabis market to minimise public and individual health risks. Existing research indicates that increased availability of legal cannabis can be associated with higher usage and negative health outcomes. However, comprehensive sales data and information on sales regulations of individual dispensaries, such as opening hours and product selection, are scarce.

Objective: ‘Züri Can – Cannabis with Responsibility’ is the first study worldwide to directly compare cannabis social clubs, pharmacies, and a state institution (the Drug Information Centre Zurich (DIZ)) as recreational cannabis dispensaries. Since August 2023, participants in Zurich, Switzerland, can legally purchase cannabis for 3 years from one of the dispensaries, adhering to legal requirements (e.g. maximum of 10 g cannabis per day per person). Prices are standardised across dispensaries and linked to product potency. Dispensaries differ in the number of distinct products in stock (4-7) and weekly opening hours. We compared these self-imposed sales regulations and participant purchasing behaviour between dispensary types, anticipating that increased cannabis availability, reflected in longer opening hours and a broader product selection, would correlate with higher participant purchase volume and expenditure.

Methods: Our dataset includes sales data for 22nd August until 31st December 2023, comprising product sale time, quantity, type, price, and anonymised participant IDs from all dispensaries (27 to 131 participants each). We conducted comparisons across the dispensary types for average weekly opening hours, number of distinct products, and participants' monthly purchase volume (in grams) and expenditure (in Swiss Francs (CHF)).

Results: As of 31st December 2023, 1,556 participants had purchased a total of 83.8 kg of cannabis from 19 dispensaries (10 pharmacies, 8 Social Clubs, the DIZ). Pharmacies had longer average weekly opening hours (28.4 hours) compared to Social Clubs (13.4 hours) and the DIZ (9.0 hours). The average number of distinct products in stock per week was similar between pharmacies (5.3), Social Clubs (5.2), and the DIZ (5.6). Participants at a Social Club, on average, purchased 20.4 g of cannabis per month, spending a total of 184.0 CHF, which is more than participants bought and spent on average at the DIZ (15.8 g, 141.8 CHF) or a pharmacy (17.0 g, 153.8 CHF).

Conclusion: The relationship between regulations and customer behaviour might not be straightforward. While pharmacies, on average, had longer weekly opening hours, participants at Social Clubs purchased more cannabis and spent more money per month. Our research will further explore the relationship of participant purchasing behaviour with opening hours, product selection, and other aspects of regulations.