Russell C Callaghan1, Marcos Sanches2, Claire Benny3, Tim Stockwell4, Adam Sherk4, Stephen J Kish5. 1. University of Northern British Columbia, Northern Medical Program, 3333 University Way, Prince George, British Columbia, V2N 4Z9, Canada; Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), Human Brain Laboratory, 250 College Street, Toronto, Ontario, M5T 1R8, Canada; University of Victoria, Canadian Institute for Substance Use Research (CISUR), 2300 McKenzie Avenue, Victoria, British Columbia, V8N 5M8, Canada. Electronic address: russ.callaghan@unbc.ca. 2. Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), Biostatistical Consulting Unit, 250 College Street, Toronto, Ontario, M5T 1R8, Canada. 3. University of British Columbia, School of Population and Public Health, 2206 East Mall, Vancouver, British Columbia, V6T 1Z3, Canada. 4. University of Victoria, Canadian Institute for Substance Use Research (CISUR), 2300 McKenzie Avenue, Victoria, British Columbia, V8N 5M8, Canada. 5. Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), Human Brain Laboratory, 250 College Street, Toronto, Ontario, M5T 1R8, Canada.
Abstract
AIM: To establish whether the population-level pattern of cannabis use by quantity is similar to the distributions previously reported for alcohol, in which a small subset of drinkers accounts for a majority of total population alcohol consumption. METHOD: The current study pooled Waves 1-3 of the 2018 National Cannabis Survey (n = 18,900; 2584 past-three-month cannabis users), a set of stratified, population-based surveys designed to assess cannabis consumption and related behaviors in Canada. Each survey systematically measured self-reported cannabis consumption by quantity across seven of the major cannabis-product types. In order to enable the conversion of self-reported consumption of non-flower cannabis products into a standard joint equivalent (SJE: equal to 0.5 g of dried cannabis), we created conversion metrics for physical production equivalencies across cannabis products. RESULTS: Similar to the findings in the alcohol literature, study results show that cannabis consumption is highly concentrated in a small subset of users: the upper 10% of cannabis users accounted for approximately two-thirds of all cannabis consumed in the country. Males reported consuming more cannabis by volume than females (approximately 60% versus 40%), with young males (15-34 years old) being disproportionately represented in the heaviest-using subgroups. CONCLUSIONS: Most of the cannabis used in Canada is consumed by a relatively small population of very heavy cannabis users. Future research should attempt to identify the characteristics of the heaviest-using groups, as well as how population-level cannabis consumption patterns relate to the calculus of cannabis-related harms in society.
AIM: To establish whether the population-level pattern of cannabis use by quantity is similar to the distributions previously reported for alcohol, in which a small subset of drinkers accounts for a majority of total population alcohol consumption. METHOD: The current study pooled Waves 1-3 of the 2018 National Cannabis Survey (n = 18,900; 2584 past-three-month cannabis users), a set of stratified, population-based surveys designed to assess cannabis consumption and related behaviors in Canada. Each survey systematically measured self-reported cannabis consumption by quantity across seven of the major cannabis-product types. In order to enable the conversion of self-reported consumption of non-flower cannabis products into a standard joint equivalent (SJE: equal to 0.5 g of dried cannabis), we created conversion metrics for physical production equivalencies across cannabis products. RESULTS: Similar to the findings in the alcohol literature, study results show that cannabis consumption is highly concentrated in a small subset of users: the upper 10% of cannabis users accounted for approximately two-thirds of all cannabis consumed in the country. Males reported consuming more cannabis by volume than females (approximately 60% versus 40%), with young males (15-34 years old) being disproportionately represented in the heaviest-using subgroups. CONCLUSIONS: Most of the cannabis used in Canada is consumed by a relatively small population of very heavy cannabis users. Future research should attempt to identify the characteristics of the heaviest-using groups, as well as how population-level cannabis consumption patterns relate to the calculus of cannabis-related harms in society.
Authors: Tashia Petker; Mark Ferro; Michael Van Ameringen; James Murphy; James MacKillop Journal: Psychopharmacology (Berl) Date: 2021-02-27 Impact factor: 4.530