Implementation and Effectiveness of an Online Responsible Vendor Training Program for Recreational Marijuana Stores in Colorado, Oregon, and Washington State

Context: Six US states have implemented retail sales of recreational marijuana. Training in responsible sales practices has been effective in the alcohol market. An online responsible marijuana vendor (RMV) training was produced and implemented with stores in a randomized trial. Program: An online RMV training was developed through meetings with state regulators and local law enforcement personnel, curriculum standards published by the Colorado Marijuana Enforcement Division in May 2015, interviews with recreational marijuana store personnel (n = 15), and usability testing of a prototype training with store personnel (n = 19) in Colorado and Washington State. The training contained 5 modules: state laws and regulations, ID checking, health effects of marijuana, customer service practices including recognizing intoxicated patrons, and rules of the trade. Implementation: A randomized controlled trial testing the training enrolled a random sample of state-licensed retail recreational marijuana stores (n = 225) in Colorado, Oregon, and Washington State. In total, 125 stores were randomly assigned to receive the RMV training. A total of 420 store employees completed the online training between June 2017 and February 2018 (43.5% female, 88.4% younger than 40 years, and 74.1% non-Hispanic white). Evaluation: Responses to posttraining surveys showed that most trainees found the training user-friendly (78.4%), were satisfied (68.8%), and would recommend it to another employ...
Source: Journal of Public Health Management and Practice - Category: Health Management Tags: Research Reports: Practice Full Report Source Type: research