Levels of Interest, Knowledge, and Awareness of Restaurant Operators and Community Enterprises on Legal Measures and Production Method of Cannabis-Containing Food

Abstract

This research aimed to study levels of interest in producing cannabis-containing food products and assess the knowledge and awareness of entrepreneurs and community enterprises on legal issues and production processes. The target groups were food and beverage entrepreneurs and community enterprises in Chiang Mai, who were 18 years old and older and have been in business for at least one year. Data was collected by interviewing or online questionnaire between February and April 2022. The results showed that the sample group consisted of 192 food and beverage operators (60.00%), and 128 community enterprises (40.00%). The respondents (42.50%) were interested in producing cannabis-containing food and beverage products, and entrepreneurs were interested more than community enterprises (46.87% and 35.94%, respectively). When analyzing the relationship using the chi-square test, there were statistically significant correlations between gender, age, and type of entrepreneurship to the interest in cannabis-containing products (p-value<0.050). In the knowledge of production method, it was found that more than 50 percent of the subjects were unaware of precautions of using cannabis parts for cooking and unknown how to cook cannabis-containing foods properly. The sample group had a moderate and appropriate level of consumer safety awareness (59.13 and 39.13%). For the safety of consumers, the research team has suggested that the government sector must give clear safety measures for the business of cannabis-containing foods, and the post-marketing surveillance should be regularly performed.