Coelho Sophie G, Wardell Jeffrey D, Kroch Abigail, Rueda Sergio
Department of Psychology, York University, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Institute for Mental Health Policy Research and Campbell Family Mental Health Research Institute, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, ON, Canada.
AIDS Behav. 2025 Mar;29(3):858-869. doi: 10.1007/s10461-024-04568-9. Epub 2024 Dec 10.
Many people living with HIV (PLWH) use cannabis to manage symptoms, but a large proportion do so without medical cannabis authorization and use cannabis obtained outside the medical stream. In jurisdictions where non-medical cannabis use is legal, PLWH who hold medical cannabis authorization may represent a unique subgroup; yet, research on the correlates of using medical cannabis (authorized by a healthcare provider) in the context of non-medical cannabis legalization is lacking. Thus, this study examined the cannabis- and health-related correlates of medical cannabis use among PLWH in Ontario, Canada, where non-medical cannabis is legal. PLWH (N = 868; 85.37% men, mean age 51.34 years [SD = 12.25]) who were enrolled in the Ontario HIV Treatment Network Cohort Study in 2022 and who reported past-year cannabis use completed an assessment of sociodemographic characteristics, HIV-related variables, cannabis and other substance use, and health-related quality of life. Relatively few participants (n = 122; 14.06%) reported any medical cannabis use, with most (n = 746; 85.94%) reporting exclusive use of non-medical cannabis. Logistic regression analyses showed that greater HIV symptom distress, poorer physical-health-related quality of life, more frequent cannabis use, and using smokeless forms of cannabis were each uniquely associated with increased likelihood of using medical cannabis relative to exclusively using non-medical cannabis. Results suggest that even in jurisdictions where non-medical cannabis is legal, a subset of PLWH continue to access cannabis through the medical stream, and these individuals report distinct patterns of cannabis use and poorer physical health. Findings may inform cannabis policy and clinical care for PLWH who use cannabis.
许多感染艾滋病毒的人（PLWH）使用大麻来缓解症状，但很大一部分人是在没有医用大麻授权的情况下这样做的，他们使用的是从医疗渠道以外获得的大麻。在非医用大麻使用合法的司法管辖区，持有医用大麻授权的PLWH可能代表一个独特的亚组；然而，在非医用大麻合法化背景下，关于使用（由医疗保健提供者授权的）医用大麻的相关因素的研究却很缺乏。因此，本研究调查了在加拿大安大略省非医用大麻合法的情况下，PLWH中使用医用大麻与大麻及健康相关的相关因素。2022年参加安大略省艾滋病毒治疗网络队列研究且报告过去一年使用过大麻的PLWH（N = 868；85.37%为男性，平均年龄51.34岁[标准差 = 12.25]）完成了社会人口学特征、艾滋病毒相关变量、大麻及其他物质使用以及健康相关生活质量的评估。相对较少的参与者（n = 122；14.06%）报告使用过任何医用大麻，大多数（n = 746；85.94%）报告只使用非医用大麻。逻辑回归分析表明，与只使用非医用大麻相比，更大的艾滋病毒症状困扰、更差的身体健康相关生活质量、更频繁的大麻使用以及使用无烟形式的大麻，每一项都与使用医用大麻的可能性增加独特相关。结果表明，即使在非医用大麻合法的司法管辖区，一部分PLWH仍通过医疗渠道获取大麻，而且这些人报告了不同的大麻使用模式和较差的身体健康状况。研究结果可能为使用大麻的PLWH的大麻政策和临床护理提供参考。
