How Do Consumers Describe Cannabis? Using a Sorting Task to Create a Lexicon to Describe Cannabis

Cannabis consumers' preference while selecting cannabis products, specifically dried flower, has been undergoing a drastic change as more consumers have begun considering the impact that flavor has on their purchasing intent of different cannabis species (including Indica, Sativa, and or hybrid varieties). As such, the objective of this study was to quantify consumers' sensory perceptions of cannabis strains currently on the market. The researchers used Natural Language Processing (NLP) and online North American cannabis retailers, cannabis user reviews, and other informative cannabis websites to identify 107 different descriptors. Cannabis consumers (n = 123) were asked to complete a free word sorting task on the 107 most frequently cited sensory descriptors identified using NLP, as well as identify which attributes they associated with high and low-quality cannabis. The consumers sorted the descriptors into 10 different categories (fruit, berry/dried fruit, savory, floral, spices, spicy, potent, smoke, roasted, and confectionary). As the cannabis market continues to grow and mature in North America, this study presents a baseline of how consumers describe different cannabis varieties.