École de travail social et de criminologie, Université Laval, Québec, QC, G1V 0A6, Canada.
Families for Addiction Recovery (FAR), Toronto, ON, Canada.
Harm Reduct J. 2024 Nov 6;21(1):193. doi: 10.1186/s12954-024-01112-9.
Canada has one of the highest prevalence of cannabis use globally, particularly among young adults aged 20-24 (50%) and youth aged 16-19 (37%). In 2018, Canada legalized recreational cannabis with the aim of protecting youth by restricting their access and raising public awareness of health risks. However, there has been limited qualitative research on the perceptions of harms associated with youth cannabis use since legalization, which is crucial for developing effective harm reduction strategies. This qualitative study examined perceptions of cannabis use among youth from the perspectives of youth, parents, and service providers. We explored how participants described the perceived risks or harms associated with youth cannabis use, as well as how they described their own and others' approaches to reducing cannabis-related risks and harms.
This qualitative study used a community-based participatory research approach in partnership with Families for Addiction Recovery (FAR), a national charity founded by parents of youth and young adults with addiction issues. Virtual semi-structured interviews were conducted, and the data were analyzed using thematic analysis.
The study included 88 participants from three key groups (n = 31 youth, n = 26 parents, n = 31 service providers). Two main themes emerged regarding perceived risks or harms associated with cannabis use: (1) concerns about cannabis-related risks and harms, including addiction, brain development, impact on family, and various adverse effects on areas such as motivation, concentration, finances, employment, education, physical and mental health; and (2) minimization of risks and harms, featuring conflicting messages, normalization, and perceptions of cannabis being less harmful than other substances. Additionally, two themes related to harm reduction approaches were identified: (1) implementation of harm reduction, and (2) challenges in implementing a harm reduction approach. Specific challenges for each participant group were noted, along with structural barriers such as unavailable and inaccessible services, easy access to cannabis, inadequate public education, and insufficient information on lower-risk cannabis use guidelines.
Youth cannabis use is a significant public health concern that requires a multi-pronged approach. Developing youth-centered harm reduction strategies that recognize the developmental needs and vulnerabilities of youth, as well as the important role of families, is imperative.
加拿大是全球大麻使用率最高的国家之一，尤其是在 20-24 岁的年轻人（50%）和 16-19 岁的青少年中（37%）。2018 年，加拿大将娱乐用大麻合法化，目的是通过限制年轻人获取大麻的途径和提高公众对健康风险的认识来保护他们。然而，自合法化以来，对与年轻人大麻使用相关的危害认知的定性研究有限，这对于制定有效的减少危害策略至关重要。这项定性研究从年轻人、父母和服务提供者的角度考察了年轻人对大麻使用的看法。我们探讨了参与者如何描述与年轻人使用大麻相关的风险或危害，以及他们如何描述自己和他人减少与大麻相关的风险和危害的方法。
这项定性研究采用了社区参与式研究方法，与 Families for Addiction Recovery（FAR）合作，FAR 是一个由有青少年和年轻人成瘾问题的父母创立的全国性慈善机构。进行了虚拟半结构化访谈，使用主题分析对数据进行了分析。
该研究包括来自三个关键群体的 88 名参与者（n=31 名年轻人、n=26 名父母、n=31 名服务提供者）。研究结果有两个与大麻使用相关的风险或危害的主题：（1）对大麻相关风险和危害的关注，包括成瘾、大脑发育、对家庭的影响以及对动力、注意力、财务、就业、教育、身心健康等各个方面的各种不利影响；（2）风险和危害的最小化，其特点是存在矛盾的信息、正常化以及对大麻的认知，认为大麻比其他物质的危害小。此外，还确定了与减少危害方法相关的两个主题：（1）实施减少危害，（2）实施减少危害方法的挑战。每个参与者群体都注意到了具体的挑战，以及结构上的障碍，例如无法获得和无法获得服务、大麻的易得性、公共教育不足以及关于低风险大麻使用指南的信息不足。
年轻人的大麻使用是一个严重的公共卫生问题，需要采取多管齐下的方法。制定以年轻人为中心的减少危害策略至关重要，这些策略要认识到年轻人的发展需求和脆弱性，以及家庭的重要作用。
