Department of Psychology, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John's, NL, Canada.
School of Pharmacy, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John's, NL, Canada.
Harm Reduct J. 2023 Sep 7;20(1):127. doi: 10.1186/s12954-023-00860-4.
Emerging adults have the highest cannabis consumption rates in Canada and are among the most vulnerable to cannabis-related harms. Since certain cannabis consumption behaviours carry greater risks of harm, the Lower-Risk Cannabis Use Guidelines (LRCUG) provide harm reduction strategies. To address a critical gap in the literature, the current study examined emerging adults' awareness of the guidelines and perceptions of higher-risk cannabis consumption behaviours identified within the LRCUG.
Emerging adults (N = 653) between the ages of 18-25 years were recruited from across Canada. Participants were presented with five vignettes depicting a character's cannabis consumption behaviours. Each vignette focused on a unique aspect of the character's consumption (frequency, polysubstance use, family history of mental illness, method of consumption, and potency). Participants were randomly assigned to one of three conditions within each of the five vignettes that were altered to capture varying levels of risk (e.g. weekly, almost daily, or daily consumption). Following each vignette, participants were asked to respond to four items relating to overall risk of harm, cognitive health, physical health, and mental health.
Participants perceived: (1) frequent consumption to be associated with greater risks than less frequent consumption; (2) simultaneous consumption of cannabis and tobacco as being associated with higher risk of harm, yet no difference between simultaneous consumption of cannabis and alcohol or cannabis consumption alone; (3) consuming cannabis with a family history of psychosis or substance use disorder as being associated with greater overall risk than consumption with no family history; (4) smoking and vaping cannabis as associated with more risk than ingesting edibles; and (5) higher-potency THC-dominant strains as being associated with more risk than lower-potency CBD-dominant strains, yet no difference between the two higher-potency THC-dominant strains.
While emerging adults seemed to appreciate the risks associated with some cannabis consumption behaviours, they had difficulty identifying appropriate levels of harm of other higher-risk behaviours. Through an improved understanding of emerging adult perceptions, effective education campaigns should be designed to improve the awareness of cannabis risks and encourage the uptake of harm reduction awareness and strategies.
在加拿大，青少年群体的大麻吸食率最高，他们也是最容易受到大麻相关危害影响的群体之一。由于某些大麻吸食行为会带来更大的危害风险，因此《低风险大麻使用指南》（LRCUG）提供了减少危害的策略。为了填补文献中的一个关键空白，本研究调查了青少年对这些指南的认识，以及对 LRCUG 中确定的更高风险大麻吸食行为的看法。
从加拿大各地招募了年龄在 18-25 岁之间的青少年（N=653）。向参与者展示了五个描述角色大麻吸食行为的情景描述。每个情景描述都集中在角色吸食行为的一个独特方面（频率、多物质使用、精神疾病家族史、吸食方法和效力）。参与者在每个情景描述中被随机分配到三个条件中的一个，这些条件在每个情景描述中都进行了改变，以捕捉不同程度的风险（例如，每周、几乎每天或每天吸食）。在每个情景描述之后，参与者被要求回答四个与整体危害风险、认知健康、身体健康和心理健康有关的项目。
参与者认为：（1）频繁吸食比不频繁吸食更具风险；（2）同时吸食大麻和烟草与更高的危害风险相关，而同时吸食大麻和酒精或单独吸食大麻则没有区别；（3）与没有家族精神病史相比，有精神病史或物质使用障碍家族史的人吸食大麻与更大的整体风险相关；（4）吸食大麻与吸烟和蒸气相比，食用大麻食品与更高的风险相关；（5）高 THC 为主的大麻与更高的风险相关，而与两种高 THC 为主的大麻相比，低 CBD 为主的大麻则没有区别。
尽管青少年似乎意识到了某些大麻吸食行为所带来的风险，但他们难以识别其他高风险行为的适当危害程度。通过更好地了解青少年的看法，应设计有效的教育活动，提高对大麻危害的认识，并鼓励他们采取减少危害的意识和策略。
