A Qualitative Study of Cannabis Edibles

 描述(由申请人提供)：在开展父项目“时代在变化：对老年大麻使用者的定性研究”(R01DA033814)的过程中，我们了解到，食用大麻的使用已经成为一种摄取方式，给使用者及其社区带来了一系列挑战。随着食用大麻变得越来越流行和容易获得，我们必须确定使用者试验和继续食用大麻的动机。我们的初步发现表明，许多婴儿潮一代将可食用大麻作为吸烟的更健康替代品，并发现了一种本质上不同的醉酒体验。用户的账户表明，他们面临的主要挑战之一是可能过量服药。服药过量的经历从几个小时后减轻的非常不愉快的感觉到心悸、出汗过多、极度烦躁、偏执、幻觉和去急诊室。事实上，早期发现和监测机制表明，与大麻可食用有关的急诊室就诊增加(SAMSHA，2013年)。这个拟议的为期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：使用食用大麻的信仰、做法以及健康和社会后果是什么？要被纳入样本，参与者必须自我确认为当前食用大麻使用者，并且他们必须在12个月内至少使用过食用大麻5次。他们从未接受过海洛因、粉末或强效可卡因、甲基苯丙胺、其他俱乐部毒品、迷幻剂或处方药的治疗。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，以便具体检查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、健康和社会后果。旧金山是进行这项定性研究的理想地点，因为它的经常吸毒者比例(13.0%)高于美国其他任何主要大都市地区的全国平均水平8.1%。随着食用大麻的使用越来越为社会所接受，无论是新手还是老手，不良反应的可能性都会增加。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、中毒发生前的时间问题以及其他对健康不利的后果可能会加剧。还可能出现与大麻食用用途有关的新的与健康有关的并发症。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更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.