Characterizing heterogeneity among people who use cannabis for medicinal reasons: A latent class analysis of a nationally representative Canadian sample

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dc.contributor.authorCoelho, Sophie G.
dc.contributor.authorWardell, Jeffrey D.
dc.date.accessioned2023-06-02T00:29:11Z
dc.date.available2023-06-02T00:29:11Z
dc.date.issued2023-07
dc.description.abstractBackground: Many individuals who use cannabis report doing so for medicinal reasons. Few studies have explored heterogeneity within this population, which may be important to inform targeted interventions. This study used latent class analysis to identify subgroups of people who use cannabis for medicinal reasons and their sociodemographic and cannabis-risk-related correlates. Method: Data came from the 2019 Canadian Alcohol and Drugs Survey, which is a representative survey of Canadians ages 15 years and older. Data from 814 individuals reporting past-year use of cannabis for medicinal or mixed medicinal and non-medicinal reasons were included. Latent class analysis was conducted with forms of cannabis used, cannabis use frequency, concurrent non-medicinal cannabis use, and the medical conditions and symptoms cannabis was used to manage as indicators. Results: Four distinct latent classes of medicinal cannabis use were identified: a non-daily cannabis flower for mental health and sleep class (39.56% of the sample), a non-daily cannabis flower for pain class (26.41% of the sample), a non-daily cannabis oil for physical health class (20.15% of the sample), and a daily multi-form cannabis for mental health and non-medical reasons class (13.88% of the sample). Sociodemographic factors and risk level for cannabis-related harms were associated with latent class membership. Conclusions: Results of this study reveal considerable heterogeneity among people reporting medicinal cannabis use and suggest that the distinct patterns of cannabis use behaviors and motives observed may be important for understanding risk for cannabis-related harms in this population. Findings underscore a need for harm reduction interventions tailored toward specific patterns of medicinal cannabis use.en_US
dc.identifier.citationCoelho, S. G., & Wardell, J. D. (2023). Characterizing heterogeneity among people who use cannabis for medicinal reasons: A latent class analysis of a nationally representative Canadian Sample. International Journal of Drug Policy, 117, 104076. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugpo.2023.104076.en_US
dc.identifier.urihttps://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugpo.2023.104076en_US
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10315/41191
dc.language.isoenen_US
dc.publisherElsevieren_US
dc.rightsAttribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International*
dc.rights.articlehttps://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S095539592300124Xen_US
dc.rights.urihttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/*
dc.subjectmarijuanaen_US
dc.subjectmedical cannabisen_US
dc.subjectmental healthen_US
dc.subjectphysical healthen_US
dc.subjectlegalizationen_US
dc.subjectlatent class analysisen_US
dc.titleCharacterizing heterogeneity among people who use cannabis for medicinal reasons: A latent class analysis of a nationally representative Canadian sampleen_US
dc.typeArticleen_US

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