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Introduction: Cannabis messaging on digital media may include sexualised portrayals. We examined whether exposure to and perceptions of cannabis posts that included sexual objectification impacted two types of sex-related cannabis expectancies-sexual risk and sexual enhancement-and whether body appreciation moderated these relationships., Methods: We conducted an online experiment with college students in Washington state. Participants viewed three brand-generated cannabis Instagram posts that either included sexually objectified women or recreational appeals (e.g., sitting by a firepit). We conducted regressions, using the PROCESS macro, to examine the hypothesized model and potential mediation and moderation., Results: Exposure to sexualised advertisements was associated with increased perceptions of cannabis sex enhancement scripts (b = 0.34, p < 0.01), which was associated with increased cannabis sex enhancement expectancies (b = 0.34, p < 0.001) and decreased cannabis sexual risk expectancies (b = -0.16, p < 0.001); exposure to such advertisements were also associated with increased perceptions of cannabis sexual risk scripts (b = 0.61, p < 0.001), which was associated with increased cannabis sexual risk expectancies (b = 0.53, p < 0.001). Body appreciation was associated with increased cannabis sex enhancement expectancies (b = 0.13, p < 0.01) and moderated the relationship between exposure to sexualised ads and cannabis sex enhancement expectancies (b = -0.21, p < 0.01)., Discussion and Conclusions: Practitioners may want to consider how to increase critical consumption of cannabis content on digital media. Researchers should consider the possible role of body appreciation as it relates to cannabis and sex enhancement expectancies., (© 2023 The Authors. Drug and Alcohol Review published by John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd on behalf of Australasian Professional Society on Alcohol and other Drugs.)

The current study explored the influences of advertising exposure, numbers of marijuana retailers, distance to retailers, and constructs from the integrative model of behavioral prediction, including outcome beliefs, perceived norms, and efficacy, on youth's intentions to use marijuana in a state in which the use of recreational marijuana is legal. A state-wide online cross-sectional survey of 350 adolescents ages 13-17, residing in Washington state, was conducted in June 2018. The results of the regression analysis suggest that exposure to marijuana advertising, positive and negative outcome beliefs, and perceived peer norms were associated with intention to use marijuana. Distances to retailers moderated the relationships between exposure to advertising and intentions, as well as between positive outcome beliefs and intentions. States that have legalized recreational marijuana should continue considering the location of retailers in relation to neighborhoods and advertising regulations to reduce the appeal to youth. Additionally, prevention efforts could aim to influence outcome beliefs and norms in an attempt to reduce adolescents' intentions to use recreational marijuana.

A pretest-posttest quasi-experiment was used to evaluate a pilot test of a media literacy curriculum implemented during summer 2001 in Washington state. As expected, media literacy training reduced youths' beliefs that most peers use tobacco, increased their understanding of advertising techniques, and increased their levels of efficacy regarding the extent to which they would participate in advocacy and prevention activities. Mixed results were found for skepticism, which appeared to suffer from a ceiling effect, and surprising results were found for desirability, also seemingly an artifact of the measures used. The results indicate that media literacy training combining skill development with a motivational component represents a promising avenue for tobacco use prevention efforts. The study also helps establish some reliable outcome measures for media literacy evaluations, but additional testing should continue to pursue the development of a complete battery of reliable and valid indicators.