OBJECTIVE: The study investigated whether California storefront and non-storefront cannabis retailers are adhering to online age-gating requirements and whether differences in website marketing practices exist. METHODS: Websites of 134 storefront and 115 non-storefront licensed retailers were randomly selected. Bivariate associations were tested between retailer type and website marketing, age-gating methods, and presence of age-gating at various purchase stages. RESULTS: Among the 200 (80.3%) websites with age-gating when entering, 182 (91%) employed an ineffective method where users click either "Yes" or "No" to confirm their age. Moreover, 49 (19.68%) websites lacked age-gating when entering. Amongst those requiring photo identification during checkout ( CONCLUSIONS: Most cannabis retailers comply with age-gating requirements
however, methods employed are easily circumvented. Youths' easy and unrestricted access to cannabis retailer websites may increase positive attitudes about cannabis and encourage use.