Clary Kelly Lynn, Kang Hyojung, Quintero Silva Laura, Bobitt Julie
School of Social Work, Texas State University, San Marcos, TX, USA.
Department of Kinesiology and Community Health, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, IL, USA.
J Psychoactive Drugs. 2023 Jul-Aug;55(3):274-281. doi: 10.1080/02791072.2022.2082901. Epub 2022 May 31.
Many U.S. Veterans are using cannabis for medical purposes. Modern research findings continue to point to medical cannabis as a potentially effective alternative to prescription medications for treating a range of medical conditions. While research exists on the use levels of cannabis, limited research can be found on the perceived stigma of using cannabis, especially among older Veterans. We surveyed 121 older U.S. Veterans who were enrolled in the Illinois Medical Cannabis Patient Program during Fall 2020. We then used maximum variation sampling to select a subset of 32 Veterans to partake in a phone interview. Two researchers conducted and qualitatively coded 30-minute audiotaped semi-structured interviews. Interview topics included (1) the use of cannabis, opioids, and benzodiazepines; (2) interactions with medical providers; (3) stigma regarding cannabis use; and (4) educational materials. We share findings from stigma. We identified three themes: (1) stereotypes regarding people who use cannabis, (2) media portrayal of cannabis users, and (3) hesitation in disclosing cannabis use. Stigma creates situations in which older Veterans may be hesitant to disclose their use of cannabis with physicians and friends/family, which can be dangerous and socially isolating. Additional research is needed to expand upon our findings with more generalizable methods.
许多美国退伍军人出于医疗目的使用大麻。现代研究结果持续表明，医用大麻是治疗一系列病症的处方药的一种潜在有效替代品。虽然存在关于大麻使用水平的研究，但关于使用大麻的感知污名，尤其是在老年退伍军人中的相关研究却很有限。我们对2020年秋季参加伊利诺伊州医用大麻患者项目的121名美国老年退伍军人进行了调查。然后，我们采用最大差异抽样法从这121名退伍军人中选取了32人组成一个子集，对其进行电话访谈。两名研究人员进行了时长30分钟的录音半结构化访谈，并进行定性编码。访谈主题包括：（1）大麻、阿片类药物和苯二氮䓬类药物的使用；（2）与医疗服务提供者的互动；（3）对使用大麻的污名化看法；（4）教育材料。我们分享了关于污名化的研究结果。我们确定了三个主题：（1）对大麻使用者的刻板印象；（2）媒体对大麻使用者的描绘；（3）在披露使用大麻情况时的犹豫。污名化造成了这样的情况：老年退伍军人可能会犹豫是否向医生和朋友/家人透露他们使用大麻的情况，这可能很危险，而且会导致社交孤立。需要进行更多研究，以更具普遍性的方法扩展我们的研究结果。
