A Multi-Method Investigation of Cannabis Messaging: Characterizing Source, Content, and Associations with Cannabis Consumption

随着美国大多数州通过立法将大麻在医学上和/或娱乐上合法化， 公众对这种药物的看法现在是压倒性的有利。获得和普遍使用的增加是 伴随着对低健康风险和/或与大麻使用有关的治疗益处的看法。 除了在某些医疗条件下症状缓解的证据外，关于 大麻在许多情况下仍然难以捉摸，留下关于何时以及如何使用大麻的决定 给用户CU的治疗和娱乐原因（动机）在很大程度上是通过暴露于 关于大麻影响的信息，但对信息的来源，如何传播， 对用户来说，它如何塑造他们的思维，以及最终与CU模式的关联。拟定的研究将 收集有关消息来源，大麻推广内容和风险警告的关键信息， 传播给大麻使用者以及收到的信息，它们对CU动机的影响，以及 后来的CU。混合方法设计将包括两个阶段。第一阶段涉及半结构化 与1）大麻使用者以及信息来源进行的访谈，包括2）大麻 药房和零售店工作人员（buddender），3）种植者，4）讨论大麻的卫生保健提供者 和病人一起。此外，消息内容的提取和编码将在互联网上进行， 社交媒体消息平台。将对娱乐/医用大麻销售点进行观察性编码， 使用经过验证的监测工具进行。总之，这些数据允许对大麻进行定性 跨各种类型的源和平台（目标1）传递信息内容，这反过来又会为第2阶段提供信息 方法.第2阶段包括一项为期4周的三次爆发性生态瞬时评估（EMA）研究， 样本（N=300）每周18-74岁的大麻使用者。与会者将完成简短的智能手机为基础的 暴露于信息的措施（来源和内容），大麻的动机，以及自然环境中的使用模式 环境有了这些定量数据，这将是第一个研究前瞻性关联的研究。 用户接触大麻的信息和动机与其他认知之间的关系（目标2）。此外，我们将 测试大麻的动机是否是大麻信息与 在人与人之间和人与人之间的层面上都有CU（目标3）。最后，我们将探讨用户特征 和消息源特性作为大麻消息传递和CU的影响的潜在主持人 (Aim 4）。这种互补和高度严格的数据收集方法的结合将提供 最微妙的理解正在传播的信息有关大麻的影响， 大麻吸食者调查结果将为政策制定者和大麻监管科学提供基于证据的 关于大麻信息的影响的信息，这些信息最终可以减少滥用的潜在危害。

With the majority of US states having adopted legislation to medically and/or recreationally legalize cannabis, public perception of the drug is now overwhelmingly favorable. Increased access and prevalence of use are accompanied by perceptions of low health risk and/or of therapeutic benefits associated with cannabis use. Aside from evidence for symptom relief in certain medical conditions, evidence regarding therapeutic effects of cannabis for many conditions remains elusive, leaving the decision regarding when and how to use cannabis to the user. Both therapeutic and recreational reasons (motives) for CU are largely shaped through exposure to messages about the effects of cannabis, yet little is known about the source of messaging, how it is transmitted to users, how it shapes their thinking, and ultimately its association with CU patterns. The proposed study will gather critical information about message sources, cannabis-promoting content, and risk warnings being disseminated to cannabis users as well as the messages being received, their effects on CU motives, and subsequent CU. The mixed-methods design will include two phases. Phase 1 involves semi-structured interviews conducted with 1) cannabis users, as well as with message sources, including 2) cannabis dispensary and retail outlet staff (budtenders), 3) growers, and 4) health care providers who discuss cannabis with patients. Additionally, extraction and coding of messaging content will be conducted across internet and social media messaging platforms. Observational coding of recreational/medical cannabis outlets will be conducted using validated surveillance tools. Together, these data permit characterization of cannabis messaging content across various types of sources and platforms (Aim 1) that will in turn inform Phase 2 methods. Phase 2 consists of a three-burst 4-week ecological momentary assessment (EMA) study with a sample (N=300) of weekly 18-74 year-old cannabis users. Participants will complete brief smartphone-based measures of exposure to messaging (source and content), cannabis motives, and use patterns in the natural environment. With these quantitative data, this will be the first study to examine prospective associations between a user’s exposure to cannabis messaging and motives and other cognitions (Aim 2). Further, we will test whether cannabis motives are a mechanism underlying the association between cannabis messaging and CU at both the between-person and within-person levels (Aim 3). Finally, we will explore user characteristics and message source characteristics as potential moderators of the effects of cannabis messaging and CU (Aim 4). This combination of complementary and highly rigorous data collection approaches will provide the most nuanced understanding of the messages being disseminated about the effects of cannabis to the cannabis user. Findings will arm policy makers and cannabis regulatory science with evidence-based information about the impact of cannabis messaging that can ultimately reduce potential harms from misuse.