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PerceptionsCBDNCT06069713

Consumer Perceptions of Cannabidiol (CBD) Health Claims

A study testing CBD advertisements in people with Perceptions, run by Wake Forest University Health Sciences at 1 site in United States.

Completed

Finished. The study has ended and is not enrolling. Results may be posted on the official record.

Official record
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Trial summary

Over 46 million US adults report use of cannabidiol (CBD), primarily to treat medical ailments. The growing CBD market spans the range of products that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulates including drugs, dietary supplements, food/beverages and cosmetics. Read more about this study

Who is it for?
Ages 18 to 65 yearsHealthy volunteers can take part
Conditions the study is for
Perceptions
What is being tested?
CBD advertisements
Could I receive a placebo?
No, everyone receives an active treatment
How many people
3,504 participants
Where
1 siteUnited States
Study dates
9 Oct 2023to 20 Nov 2023
Phase
Interventional
Are there results?
Yes, posted in the registrySummary in the doctors' view

Key requirements

Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.

  • Ages 18 to 65 years
  • All sexes
  • Healthy volunteers accepted
  • Adult, Older adult

Who may be able to join

  • Age 18-65
  • US Residents
  • Satisfies one of the following categories:
  • Current CBD users
  • Ever CBD users
  • Non-CBD users
  • Members of the AmeriSpeak™ panel

Who cannot join

  • Non-English speakers
  • Younger than 18 or older than 65
  • Not US residents
  • Not members of the AmeriSpeak™ panel

Trial locations and contacts

1 site in 1 country.

United States1 site
  • Wake Forest University Health Sciences

    Winston-Salem, North Carolina, 27157

Other trials in United States

About this study

Official title: The Impact of Cannabidiol (CBD) Health Claims at Point-of-Sale on Consumer Perceptions and Behavior: Online Survey

Over 46 million US adults report use of cannabidiol (CBD), primarily to treat medical ailments. The growing CBD market spans the range of products that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulates including drugs, dietary supplements, food/beverages and cosmetics. CBD cannot be marketed as having therapeutic benefits (without FDA's approval), be false or misleading to consumers, or convey the products are approved or endorsed by the FDA. In addition, CBD cannot be marketed as a food additive or dietary supplement since it is an active ingredient in an approved drug, Epidiolex. Despite this, CBD products have been illicitly advertised to consumers with these claims including unsubstantiated health claims that promote benefits including curing cancer and preventing Alzheimer's disease. These types of claims may reduce perceptions of harm and increase perceived benefits of use. This study aims to evaluate how consumers perceive real-world CBD advertisements. To that end, we will implement an online survey and randomize adult participants (ages 18-65) to see various advertisements made about CBD to determine if they interpret advertisements as making health claims that are currently prohibited by the FDA.

Read the detailed description

Cannabidiol (CBD) products have rapidly gained popularity, spanning the retail market with a range of products that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulates including drugs, dietary supplements, food/beverages and cosmetics. The FDA mandates that CBD cannot be marketed as having therapeutic benefits (without FDA's approval), be false or misleading to consumers, or convey the products are approved or endorsed by the FDA. In addition, CBD cannot be marketed as a food additive or dietary supplement since it is an active ingredient in an approved drug, Epidiolex. Despite this, CBD products have been unlawfully advertised to consumers with these claims including unsubstantiated health claims that promote benefits including curing cancer and preventing Alzheimer's disease and providing chronic pain relief. This project, focused on informing regulatory actions for CBD, aims to evaluate consumer perceptions of real-world health claims documented in brick and mortar CBD retailers in three US states.

Setting: The survey will be a single online experiment with one survey. The survey will last approximately 20 minutes.

Recruitment: Adult CBD and non-CBD users, ages 18-65, will be recruited through NORC, an online survey panel company. Interested prospective participants will complete a screening questionnaire to determine their eligibility. If eligible, NORC will invite them to enroll in the study. Approximately 3525 participants will complete the study.

Informed consent: Participants will provide online consent prior to the main survey, after determining eligibility.

Randomization: After providing informed consent, participants will be randomly assigned to one of eleven panels. Participants will have an equal chance of being randomized to any of the eleven panels. Each panel will view 5 advertisements about CBD that was documented in a CBD retailer in the US.

Assessment: Participants in the study will complete one survey that will take approximately 20 minutes. During the survey, participants will view 5 advertisements about CBD. Participants will be randomized to 1 of 11 panels, each containing 5 different advertisements. Within each panel, participants will be randomized to the order of the images they see and will be asked a series of questions after each advertisement to determine the appeal CBD and if they perceive the ad to be making health claims that are prohibited by the US FDA. After viewing all 5 ads in their assigned panel, participants will complete measures assessing outcome expectancies of CBD use, perceived benefits of daily CBD use, and willingness to try CBD (non-users only).

Conditions
Perceptions
Being tested
CBD advertisements
Keywords
CBD, Cannabidiol, Marketing, Health claims

What participants receive

What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.

  • CBD advertisementsBehavioural

    Also called images of CBD advertisements

    Participants will view the 5 images of CBD advertisements in their assigned panel and answer questions about their perceptions of the advertisement.

Study groups in NCT06069713
Study groupRoleWhat they receive
Perception of AdsExperimentalEach panel will consist of 5 different advertisements for CBD. With 11 panels and 5 images each, there are a total of 55 images that will be viewed by the participants. Participants will view an image, one at a time, and answer questions about their perceptions of the advertisement.
Receives: Behavioral: CBD advertisements

What is being measured

The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.

  1. Perceived Claim Scores

    The primary outcome is consumer perception of the claims in the ads (n=55) and whether perceptions of prohibited claims vary by CBD use status. After viewing each of the 5 assigned ads participants will respond to six items that assess their perception of the prohibited claims made in the ads, including 1) drug effect 2) FDA approved/ endorsed 3) dietary supplement 4) food additive 5) false/misleading (scientific) and 6) false/misleading (targeting youth). The Study Team will use a 5-point response scale, (1) Not at all to (5) Extremely to assess perception of each prohibited claim type. For each use status group, the Study Team will report the overall mean score (all ads together) for each claim type to indicate if perception of prohibited claims differed by use status.

    Measured: Minute 15

Secondary outcomes (2)
  1. Perceived Product Safety Scores

    For each ad that the participant views (n=5), the Participant will respond to a one-item measure that assesses the extent to which the participant perceives that CBD is safe to consume. Response options are on a 1 to 5 scale, with higher scores representing more perceived safety (i.e. 1- Not at all safe to 5- Extremely safe). For each use status group, the Study Team will report the mean score of perceived safety to indicate if the perceived safety of CBD in the advertisements differed by use status.

    Measured: Minute 15

  2. Appeal Scores

    For each ad that the participant views (n=5), the Participant will respond to a one-item measure to assess the extent to which the ad makes CBD appealing to them. Response options are on a 1 to 5 scale, with higher scores representing more appeal (i.e. 1- Not at all appealing to 5- Extremely appealing). For each use status group, the Study Team will report the mean score of appeal to indicate if the appeal of CBD in the advertisements differed by use status.

    Measured: Minute 15

Timeline

From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.

  1. First posted6 Oct 2023
  2. Study start9 Oct 2023
  3. Primary completion20 Nov 2023
  4. Study completion20 Nov 2023

Resources

More details

For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.

Study design
Study type
Interventional
Phase
Phase N/A
Primary purpose
Prevention
Allocation
Not applicable
Intervention model
Single group
Model description
Conduct a cross-sectional online survey with a nationally representative probability-based sample of adults, ages 18-65 to assess consumer perceptions of 55 documented advertisements about CBD. Participants will be randomly assigned to 1 of 11 panels that each contain 5 advertisements about CBD.
Masking
None (open label)
Enrolment
3,504 participants (actual)
IDs, dates and publications
ClinicalTrials.gov ID
NCT06069713
Sponsor's protocol ID
IRB00094734
Other IDs
1R01DA051542
Acronym
CBD
Status last verified
Jun 2023
First submitted
21 Sep 2023
Last updated
20 Mar 2026
Data monitoring committee
No
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
Individual data sharing
No

Questions about this trial

What is this clinical trial studying?

A study testing CBD advertisements in people with Perceptions, run by Wake Forest University Health Sciences at 1 site in United States.

The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.

Who may be eligible to take part?

The sponsor lists 7 inclusion and 4 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.

Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?

The record says: finished, as of the sponsor's last update on 20 Mar 2026. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.

Where is the study taking place?

The record lists 1 site in United States. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.

What are the possible benefits and risks?

They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.

Are results available for this study?

Yes. Results are posted in the registry (first posted 30 Dec 2024). A summary is in the For doctors view, and the full results are on ClinicalTrials.gov.

How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?

The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.

What does the primary outcome measure?

Perceived Claim Scores (time frame: Minute 15). It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.

Where can I read the original study information?
Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?

No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.

How often is this information updated?

AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 20 Mar 2026.

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