London-Nadeau Kira, Lafortune Connor, Gorka Catherine, Lemay-Gaulin Mélodie, Séguin Jean, Haines-Saah Rebecca, Ferlatte Olivier, Chadi Nicholas, Juster Robert-Paul, Bristowe Sean, D'Alessio Heath, Bernal Laura, Ellis-Durity Kiah, Barbosa João, Da Costa De Carlos Leila Afra Akira Clelia, Castellanos Ryan Natalie
Department of Psychology, Université de Montréal, Montréal, QC, Canada; CHU Sainte-Justine, Montréal, QC, Canada.
Nipissing University, North Bay, ON, Canada.
Int J Drug Policy. 2025 Apr;138:104512. doi: 10.1016/j.drugpo.2024.104512. Epub 2024 Jul 10.
Queer and trans (QT) youth report higher rates of cannabis use than their cisgender and heterosexual peers. Explanations for this have overwhelmingly focused on the difficulties QT youth face, while little research has examined how cannabis use can relate to QT youth's strengths. We sought to explore how cannabis use could be involved in the experiences of QT youth from a strengths-based perspective.
We conducted a QT youth-led, community-based study composed of 27 semi-structured interviews with QT young adults aged 21-25 years and living in Québec who use(d) cannabis regularly. Through reflexive thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2019), we used a strengths-based lens informed by the Minority Strengths Model (Perrin et al., 2020) to explore how cannabis use featured in participants' efforts to survive and thrive.
We generated three themes representing how cannabis featured in participants' efforts to survive and thrive. First, cannabis was used to facilitate the production of an authentic QT self, a process that involved self-discovery, introspection, exploration, awareness, and expression. Cannabis supported, accompanied, and/or complicated this process. Second, cannabis use (and non-use) was involved in building QT community and connection, which constituted a crux of participants' wellbeing. Third, cannabis was used to face adversity, such as marginalization, QT oppression, mental health challenges, and structural under-resourcing. This adversity contrasted experiences of QT identities themselves, which were described as a source of joy and pride.
Our analysis illustrates many ways in which cannabis use (and non-use) features in QT youth's efforts to survive and thrive. As a result, we encourage loved ones, clinicians, researchers and policy makers to adopt a view of QT cannabis use that is expansive and inclusive of QT youth's strengths.
酷儿和跨性别（QT）青少年报告的大麻使用率高于他们的顺性别和异性恋同龄人。对此的解释绝大多数都集中在QT青少年面临的困难上，而很少有研究探讨大麻使用与QT青少年的优势之间的关系。我们试图从基于优势的角度探索大麻使用如何与QT青少年的经历相关。
我们开展了一项由QT青少年主导、基于社区的研究，对21至25岁、居住在魁北克且经常使用大麻的QT青年成年人进行了27次半结构化访谈。通过反思性主题分析（布劳恩和克拉克，2019年），我们运用了由少数群体优势模型（佩林等人，2020年）启发的基于优势的视角，来探索大麻使用在参与者生存和茁壮成长的努力中所起的作用。
我们生成了三个主题，代表大麻在参与者生存和茁壮成长的努力中所起的作用。首先，大麻被用于促进真实的QT自我的形成，这一过程涉及自我发现、内省、探索、觉察和表达。大麻支持、陪伴并/或使这一过程复杂化。其次，大麻使用（和不使用）参与了QT社区的建立和联系，这是参与者幸福感的关键所在。第三，大麻被用于面对逆境，如边缘化、QT压迫、心理健康挑战和资源配置不足。这种逆境与QT身份本身的经历形成对比，后者被描述为喜悦和自豪的源泉。
我们的分析说明了大麻使用（和不使用）在QT青少年生存和茁壮成长的努力中所呈现的多种方式。因此，我们鼓励亲人、临床医生、研究人员和政策制定者采用一种广泛且包容QT青少年优势的QT大麻使用观。
