School of Public Health, Tropical Medicine and Rehabilitation Sciences, James Cook University, Cairns, Australia.
Drug Alcohol Rev. 2012 Jun;31(4):580-4. doi: 10.1111/j.1465-3362.2011.00405.x. Epub 2011 Dec 20.
Anecdotal reports suggest that high rates of cannabis use and dependence are significant issues in Indigenous communities in north Queensland; however, there is little scientific evidence to support or refute this. The Cape York Cannabis Project seeks to investigate cannabis use rates, cannabis dependence and mental health impacts for the first time in three Cape York Indigenous communities.
The current study reports preliminary findings, resulting from interviews with 133 Indigenous participants aged 14-47 years from one Cape York community. Quantitative data were gathered on rates of cannabis use, cannabis dependence as measured by a score of ≥ 3 the Severity of Dependence Scale. Qualitative self-report data were gathered concerning mental health impacts of cannabis and reasons for quitting.
Very high rates of cannabis use were identified, with 66.2% of males and 30.5% of females interviewed being current users. An additional 12.2% of males and 30.5% of females were former users, and 21.6% of males and 39% of females had never used cannabis. High rates of cannabis dependence were also observed. Of those current users who used cannabis at least weekly, 67.7% reported cannabis dependence. A range of mental health impacts due to cannabis were reported. In total, 76.1% of current users were considering quitting or cutting down. Rates of use and dependence were much higher than national rates, and indicate significant mental health harms due to cannabis. Further investigation of mental health impacts of cannabis is required, as is intervention to reduce these impacts.
有传闻称，北昆士兰的原住民社区存在着高比例的大麻使用和依赖问题；然而，目前几乎没有科学证据可以支持或反驳这一说法。约克角大麻项目旨在首次调查约克角三个原住民社区的大麻使用率、大麻依赖和心理健康影响。
本研究报告了初步结果，这些结果来自于对来自约克角一个社区的 133 名 14-47 岁的原住民参与者的访谈。收集了大麻使用率的定量数据，大麻依赖程度通过严重依赖量表得分≥3 来衡量。收集了有关大麻对心理健康影响和戒烟原因的定性自我报告数据。
研究发现大麻使用率非常高，接受访谈的男性中有 66.2%，女性中有 30.5%是当前使用者。另有 12.2%的男性和 30.5%的女性曾是使用者，21.6%的男性和 39%的女性从未使用过大麻。大麻依赖率也很高。在那些至少每周使用一次大麻的当前使用者中，67.7%的人报告有大麻依赖。报告了一系列由于大麻而产生的心理健康影响。总的来说，76.1%的当前使用者正在考虑戒烟或减少用量。使用率和依赖率远高于全国平均水平，表明大麻对心理健康造成了严重危害。需要进一步调查大麻对心理健康的影响，并采取干预措施来减轻这些影响。
