Prediction of Purchase Intention for Medical Cannabis Products: Case Study in Medellín Colombia

Abstract

This article provides information on the level of acceptance of medical cannabis, the intention to use it and the factors involved in the decision-making process of individuals. Despite the studies developed for the use of medicinal cannabis, it has some difficulties to enter the market due to existing prejudices as a recreational drug. In order to provide valuable information to make the right decisions and generate marketing strategies, the relationships between the use of medical cannabis and the Theory of Planned Behavior in the purchase and consumption decision are explored using factor analysis techniques, and relevance analysis. Besides, a purchase intention prediction model based on machine learning is proposed. The results show that the dimensions ”attitudes” and ”perceived behavioral control” have a positive and statistically significant relationship with consumption and purchase. The purchase intention prediction model achieved a performance with an accuracy greater than 94%.