This study examined demand for medicinal and recreational cannabis in a potentially legalised scenario among a young population who regularly used cannabis products (i.e., over‐the‐counter CBD, THC and CBD + THC). The main findings were: (i) in the sample as a whole, people who use cannabis products reported greater demand for medicinal than recreational cannabis; (ii) people who used CBD + THC exhibited greater demand for recreational and medicinal cannabis than groups reporting THC and CBD use only and (iii) men reported greater demand for medicinal and recreational cannabis than women. The potential legalisation of recreational and medicinal cannabis was associated with significant effects on the intention to use cannabis, as indicated by similarly average intensity of demand values (8.96–9.04 g, for recreational and medicinal cannabis, respectively). In the sample as a whole, there was greater demand for medicinal cannabis than recreational cannabis, based on several BE indices (intensity, breakpoint, O _max and P _max). Nonetheless, effect sizes were small in magnitude, suggesting that the overall impact of legalisation is likely to be similar across both commodities. Variables that affect these purchase decisions may be related to better perceptions of control, quality and safety of legal medicinal cannabis for pain relief [57, 58, 59]. Many people who use cannabis for medical purposes are consuming cannabis without medical supervision and for conditions for which there is no evidence of its beneficial effect (e.g., depression and anxiety) [60]. Given that the medicinal cannabis scenario included the instruction that cannabis is ‘prescribed by a doctor’, most participants may have perceived medicinal cannabis as tailored to their needs in terms of dosage, potency and strain, as medicinal cannabis strains have lower THC and higher CBD which may be a better match to the needs of people coping with physical and mental health conditions [61]. Moreover, the fact that a sizable number of participants in this study reported using cannabis for relaxation and coping purposes may account for the higher demand for medicinal versus recreational cannabis. In fact, as suggested by the statistically significant effect of pain relief as a reason for cannabis use, the greater willingness to pay for medicinal cannabis among people who use CBD + THC may be explained by motives related to pain relief. Furthermore, over 30% of people who use CBD + THC reported using cannabis for pain relief, which may have increased their drive to report greater demand for medicinal cannabis.

People who use CBD + THC exhibited greater recreational and medicinal cannabis demand than people who use THC or CBD‐only. This may be attributable to the higher dependence levels associated with the combination of both THC and CBD products [62]. In fact, in this study, people who use CBD + THC reported higher levels of hazardous cannabis use and a greater number of joints smoked per day compared to people using THC only. Furthermore, CUD risk (as measured by the CAST), was significantly associated with all demand indices, except elasticity. As a recent epidemiological study reported, risk perceptions regarding smoking cannabis seem to be lower among people who use CBD [63]. In part, facilitated by disinformation and marketing campaigns, people who use CBD may think that combining CBD products that are over the counter with legal cannabis would result in enhanced psychoactive effects. On a related note, those who are less well‐educated and use cannabis products for specific health conditions (e.g., improved sleep, anxiety, pain etc.) might underestimate the risks of smoking cannabis to self‐medicate [63, 64]. Given that legal cannabis is subjected to quality and safety control, people who use THC may feel that using legal cannabis would provide a higher‐quality experience [57]. Moreover, legalising cannabis implies a variety of products to choose from (e.g., based on strain, potency) and improved safety when buying cannabis (e.g., reducing violent confrontations between consumers, such as muggings, which often occur in black markets) [65], which may encourage people who are already using cannabis to try legal cannabis either for medicinal or recreational purposes. Collectively, legalised cannabis markets may resemble the current organisational system of cannabis social clubs in Spain [15], which are widely popular across the country [66], but without the requirement to operate exclusively in private spaces and under a clearly defined legal framework. These legal guarantees may encourage people who are already using cannabis to try legal cannabis either for medicinal or recreational purposes.

Men reported higher demand for recreational and medicinal cannabis than women, with no differences observed between commodities. Although small magnitudes of effects were observed, these findings may carry practical relevance, particularly given the well‐known dose–response relationship, where higher intensity of consumption (e.g., grams) increases the risk of poor mental health [67, 68]. Overall, the observed differences may be due to the higher prevalence and severity of cannabis use among men, particularly, in young adults [4, 69, 70]. Despite the sex gap in the prevalence of cannabis narrowing [71], stigma continues to be a significant barrier to women's access to cannabis and it seems that women prefer to keep it hidden to maintain social ties [72, 73]. Another potential explanation may be related to preferred patterns of use. Women tend to prefer edibles over smoked cannabis, whereas men use smoked cannabis more frequently in the form of joints or blunts [74, 75]. This difference in preferences probably leads to lower demand for smoked cannabis among women in the Hypothetical Purchase Tasks that ask about it.

This study is subject to at least four limitations. First, the study sample was restricted to a specific population group who use cannabis products and the findings may not be generalisable to the broader population of young people who do not use cannabis. Second, participants were asked to make hypothetical decisions about purchasing cannabis for recreational and medicinal use for a typical week, so decisions may not correspond to actual purchasing decisions where cannabis use is used occasionally (e.g., once during the weekend). Third, the study sought to examine demand in a potential scenario of legalisation and because the current scenario (decriminalisation) was not considered, no conclusions can be made regarding increased legal cannabis demand. Fourth, in this study, the decision to focus on cannabis use for pain is based on the fact that the draft Royal Decree of the Spanish Ministry of Health in 2024 included the use of cannabis preparations for chronic pain, as well as on the current interest in the potential applications of cannabis, cannabis‐based medicines and endocannabinoid system modulators in the context of pain treatment. Focusing on cannabis use for alleviating physical pain provided a standardised context, but it excluded other common motives for cannabis use, such as coping with mental health disorders. As demand may vary across different motivational contexts, future studies should consider this important variable. Another limitation concerns the role of age which could plausibly influence estimated demand for those aged 17 or lower. Therefore, developmental factors typical of adolescence, shifting social contexts, evolving risk perceptions and potential social desirability effects may have shaped responses. In this context, future studies should stratify analyses by narrower age bands or ensure representativeness of different age groups to be included as a covariate with sufficient statistical power. Finally, demand for recreational and medicinal cannabis was assessed in the form of smoked cannabis/medical preparations, but ‘medical use of cannabis’ can refer to a wide variety of preparations and products that may contain different active ingredients and use different routes of administration other than being smoked.

Considering these points, this study has several implications for public health. The results provide initial empirical data supporting the idea that cannabis legalisation for recreational and medicinal purposes would be associated with high demand among young populations that report cannabis use, including those that are underage. Approximately 62% and 65% of participants reported a willingness to try recreational and medicinal cannabis, respectively. Importantly, the average price at which legal demand ceased was €19.63/g for recreational cannabis and €20.50/g for medicinal cannabis. Price plays a crucial role in discouraging participants from accessing both the legal and illegal markets. As reported by study participants (average €4.37/g) and by the most recent report from the Spanish Government's National Plan on Drugs in 2022 [76], the price per gram of resin is €5.57 and the price per gram of marijuana is €5.09. These figures suggest that, in a potential legal scenario, economic policies should carefully regulate pricing, given that the illegal market currently offers cannabis at substantially lower prices and might, therefore, represent a substitute commodity. In this context, BE research offers methods that were not applied in the present study and future research is warranted to examine cross‐elasticity between legal and illegal commodities. Additionally, we observed that men and people who smoke THC and use over‐the‐counter CBD products represent higher‐risk subpopulations requiring attention in post‐legalisation landscapes, as greater demand for both recreational and medicinal cannabis was observed in these groups. Education campaigns (e.g., through mass media) that balance the risks and benefits of medical cannabis are necessary, as misperceptions regarding THC could increase the risk of cannabis misuse for non‐medical purposes. Nonetheless, these actions alone are insufficient and there is a need for sustainable prevention programs that address perceptions of cannabis‐related risks and specifically target people who use cannabis, while also offering social skills training. School and university settings are ideal for implementing universal and selective programs and there are good examples that showed effectiveness in reducing cannabis (e.g., unplugged) [77].