A Qualitative Study of Cannabis Edibles

 描述（由申请人提供）：在进行母项目的过程中，“时代在变化：对老年大麻使用者的定性研究（R01DA033814）”，我们了解到，食用大麻的使用已经成为一种摄入模式，对使用者和他们的社区都有自己的挑战。随着可食用大麻变得越来越受欢迎和可用，重要的是我们要确定用户进行实验和继续食用的动机。我们的初步研究结果表明，许多婴儿潮一代寻求食用大麻作为吸烟的健康替代品，并发现了一种质的不同的中毒体验。用户的帐户表明，他们的主要挑战之一是过量的可能性。用药过量的经历包括几个小时后减轻的非常不愉快的感觉，心悸，过度出汗，极度烦躁不安，偏执狂，幻觉和急诊室旅行。事实上，早期检测和监测机制表明，与大麻食用相关的急诊室就诊增加（SAMSHA，2013）。这项为期36个月的定性项目的总体目标是对120名使用食用大麻的成年人（60名女性和60名男性）进行深入访谈，以解决以下问题：食用大麻的信仰、做法以及健康和社会后果是什么？要被纳入样本，参与者必须自我识别为当前的食用大麻用户，并且他们必须在12个月内使用食用大麻至少5次。在任何时候，他们都不会接受海洛因、粉末或快克可卡因、甲基苯丙胺、其他俱乐部毒品、迷幻药或处方药的治疗。我们将包括那些因使用大麻而接受治疗的人。我们将排除那些在面试前一年自我报告酒精问题或治疗的潜在参与者。这些纳入和排除标准旨在将我们的研究重点放在主要大麻使用者身上，以专门研究他们的食用大麻使用情况，并发现他们的使用轨迹及其行为，健康和社会结果。旧金山弗朗西斯科是这项定性研究的理想地点，因为它的经常吸毒者比例（13.0%，全国平均水平为8.1%）高于美国任何其他主要城市。随着食用大麻的使用变得越来越为社会所接受，新手和经验丰富的使用者出现不良反应的可能性都在增加。随着医疗和娱乐使用者开始尝试食用大麻，适当剂量的问题、中毒时间长度的问题以及其他负面健康后果可能会加剧。食用大麻特有的新的健康相关并发症也可能出现。这一定性研究项目将提供急需的关于食用大麻使用者独特经历的经验信息，以便专门针对日益增长的食用大麻使用者群体设计更适当和有效的公共卫生警告和干预措施。

 DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): In the course of conducting the parent project, "Times are Changing: A Qualitative Study of Older Marijuana Users (R01DA033814)," we learned that edible cannabis use has emerged as a mode of ingestion with its own set of challenges for users and their communities. As edible cannabis becomes more popular and available, it is important that we ascertain users' motivations for experimentation and continuation of edible use. Our preliminary findings indicate that many Baby Boomers sought out edible cannabis as a healthier alternative to smoking and discovered a qualitatively different intoxication experience. Users' accounts indicate that one of their main challenges was the potential for overdose. Overdose experiences range from very unpleasant sensations that abate over several hours to heart palpitations, excessive sweating, extreme dysphoria, paranoid ideation, hallucinations and trips to the ER. In fact, early detection and surveillance mechanisms indicate an increase in cannabis edible-related ER visits (SAMSHA, 2013). The overarching aim of this proposed 36-month qualitative project is to conduct in-depth interviews with 120 adult (60 women and 60 men) who use edible cannabis in order to address the question: What are the beliefs, practices, and health and social consequences of edible cannabis use? To be included in the sample, participants must self-identify as a current edible cannabis user, and they must have used edible cannabis a minimum of 5 times in a 12 month period. At no point will they have been in treatment for heroin, powder or crack cocaine, methamphetamine, other club drugs, psychedelics or prescription drugs. We will include those who have been in treatment for their cannabis use. We will exclude potential participants who self-report problems with or treatment for alcohol in the year prior to interview. These inclusion and exclusion criteria are designed to focus our study on primary cannabis users in order to examine their edible cannabis use specifically and to discover their use trajectories and their behavioral, health, and social outcomes. San Francisco is an ideal site for this qualitative study because it has a higher percentage of people who are regular drug users (13.0% vs. national average of 8.1%) than any other major metropolitan area in the US. As edible cannabis use becomes more socially acceptable, the potential for adverse reactions increases among both novice and seasoned users. As medical and recreational users begin to experiment with edible cannabis, problems with proper dosage, problems with the length of time to onset of intoxication and other negative health consequences may be exacerbated. New health-related complications specific to cannabis edible use may also emerge. This qualitative research project will provide much needed empirical information about edible cannabis users' unique experiences in order to design more appropriate and effective public health warnings and interventions targeted specifically to the growing population of edible cannabis users.