Examining the Barriers to Licensed Private Cannabis Retailers in Canada: A Quantitative Content Analysis of Canadian News Media Coverage

Background Since the Government of Canada legalized non-medicinal cannabis use/consumption on October 17, 2018, licensed private cannabis retailers have faced numerous challenges. These challenges negatively impacted retail operations and potentially undermined public health and safety. We aimed to identify these challenges to inform policy decisions. Methods We conducted a quantitative news media content analysis using Nexis Uni and Eureka databases to identify articles from Canada's highest-circulating newspapers and CBC News website from 2017 to 2022, referencing at least one barrier to private cannabis retailers. We screened and extracted data using Covidence and deductively coded the data using our newly developed comprehensive cannabis retail framework and inductively as new themes emerged. The barriers identified in the media were quantified through descriptive analyses. Results The search yielded 9,371 articles, of which 307 relevant articles were included. The main findings revealed that the barriers most commonly reported by the media were related to government regulations, supply chain, and competitors. The salience of these barriers also changed over time. These barriers were most frequently mentioned in the Globe and Mail, Calgary Herald, Toronto Star, and the National Post. Conclusion Our framework was suitable for describing the data and identifying several media-portrayed barriers to private cannabis retail operations in Canada and how they differed in salience over time. However, a more in-depth understanding of the barriers from retailers’ perspectives may further support the government's policy agenda of achieving public health and safety. The results from this study may also serve as a baseline measure to evaluate Canada's cannabis retail market and provide new insights into the growing body of literature about the cannabis retail market.