Institute of Behavioral Science, University of Colorado Boulder, 1440 15th St., Boulder, CO 80309, USA.
Institute of Cognitive Science, University of Colorado Boulder, 344 UCB, Boulder, CO 80309, USA.
Int J Drug Policy. 2021 Nov;97:103278. doi: 10.1016/j.drugpo.2021.103278. Epub 2021 May 30.
Research shows that cannabis use frequency is associated with cannabis dependence and health metrics. However, much less is known about how self-reported cannabis potency (THC and CBD) may be associated with the same metrics, and whether any associations exist after accounting for frequency of cannabis use. Moreover, even less is known about how these relations may differ across cannabis product forms. This exploratory study examined 1) associations between cannabis frequency, potency, and cannabis/health metrics, and 2) whether associations between potency and cannabis/health metrics remained after controlling for frequency of use.
Using a sample of adult recreational cannabis users in Colorado (N = 300), we tested the relationship between self-reported cannabis use metrics of frequency and potency of flower, edible, and concentrate products with separate measures of problematic cannabis use (i.e., dependence, withdrawal, craving), depression, anxiety, and general perceived health.
Greater frequency of flower and concentrate (but not edible) use were associated with greater problematic cannabis use, and greater concentrate use frequency was also associated with more mental health problems. Partial correlations controlling for average frequency of use across all product forms and CBD potency per product showed that one significant association between THC potency and cannabis/health metrics remained (i.e., higher THC concentrate potency with better health), and one emerged (i.e., higher THC concentrate potency with lower cannabis withdrawal).
Frequency of use is reliably associated with problematic cannabis use for flower and concentrates, but it did not account for all observed associations in this study. Differences in patterns of associations between frequency and potency and cannabis/health metrics across cannabis forms suggest a need for better understanding user reports of THC and CBD potency, individual differences among users, and improved measurement.
研究表明，大麻使用频率与大麻依赖和健康指标有关。然而，人们对自我报告的大麻效力（THC 和 CBD）与相同指标的关联知之甚少，也不知道在考虑大麻使用频率后是否存在任何关联。此外，人们对这些关系在不同大麻产品形式中的差异知之甚少。这项探索性研究考察了 1）大麻使用频率、效力与大麻/健康指标之间的关联，以及 2）在控制使用频率后，效力与大麻/健康指标之间的关联是否仍然存在。
使用科罗拉多州成年娱乐性大麻使用者的样本（N=300），我们测试了自我报告的大麻使用频率和花、可食用和浓缩产品的效力与分别衡量的大麻使用问题（即依赖、戒断、渴望）、抑郁、焦虑和一般感知健康之间的关系。
花和浓缩物（但不是可食用物）使用频率越高，与大麻使用问题越严重有关，浓缩物使用频率越高，心理健康问题也越多。在控制所有产品形式的平均使用频率和每种产品的 CBD 效力后进行的偏相关分析显示，THC 效力与大麻/健康指标之间存在一个显著关联（即浓缩物中 THC 效力越高，健康状况越好），另一个关联也出现了（即浓缩物中 THC 效力越高，大麻戒断越低）。
使用频率与花和浓缩物的大麻使用问题可靠相关，但在本研究中并未解释所有观察到的关联。大麻形式之间频率和效力与大麻/健康指标之间关联模式的差异表明，需要更好地理解用户对 THC 和 CBD 效力的报告、用户之间的个体差异以及改进的测量方法。
