Perspectives regarding cannabis use: Results from a qualitative study of individuals engaged in substance use treatment in Georgia and Connecticut

Objective

Cannabis use is increasingly pervasive throughout the U.S. People in treatment for substance use disorders (SUD) may be especially at-risk of harm due to this changing context of cannabis in the U.S. This study's objective was to qualitatively describe experiences and beliefs around cannabis among people who had entered treatment for any SUD in the past 12-months.

Methods

From May to November of 2022, we conducted 27 semi-structured interviews (n=16 in Georgia, n=11 in Connecticut) with individuals in treatment for SUD in Georgia and Connecticut. Interviews were recorded, transcribed, and thematically analyzed using an emergent approach.

Results

All participants had used cannabis in the past. Four themes emerged from the interviews. Participants: (1) perceived cannabis as an important contributor to non-cannabis substance use initiation in adolescence; (2) viewed cannabis as a substance with the potential to improve health with fewer side effects than prescription medications; (3) expressed conflicting opinions regarding cannabis as a trigger or tool to manage cravings for other non-cannabis substances currently; and 4) described concerns related to negative legal, social service, and treatment-related consequences as well as negative peer perception relating to the use of cannabis.

Conclusion

Although participants described cannabis's important role as an initiatory drug in adolescence and young adulthood, many felt that cannabis was a medicinal substance for a range of health challenges. These findings suggest SUD treatment clinicians should address medicinal beliefs related to cannabis among their clients and emphasizes the need for research on cannabis use and SUD treatment outcomes.

Effect of dietary intake and lifestyle factors on in vivo mutant frequency at the HPRT gene locus in healthy human subjects

This paper describes the results of a study designed to assess the effects of a variety of dietary and lifestyle factors on background levels of mutant frequency (MF) at the hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyltransferase (HPRT) gene locus in humans. Eighty-three healthy and free-living subjects (aged 20-80 yr; 61 males and 22 females; mean age of 63.07 +/- 14.71 yr) were recruited. Background levels of MF were determined for each subject using a cloning assay. The mean MF/10(6) clonable cells (MF) for the study subjects was 4.63 +/- 2.20. An interview-administered questionnaire was completed by each study subject in order to assess details of dietary history, physical activity, health and potential genotoxin exposure history. A 7-day estimated dietary record method with a food frequency questionnaire was used to determine average intakes of energy and macronutrients (including alcohol), and a range of micronutrients (including vitamin and mineral supplement usage). The relationships between individual dietary and lifestyle factors and HPRT MF were investigated by univariate and multivariate analysis (data was adjusted for age, lymphocyte plating efficiency [PE] and energy intake [EI]). Univariate analysis revealed a significant positive correlation between EI and MF and multivariate analysis revealed significant positive correlations between, body mass index (BMI), % energy intake from total carbohydrate, starch, fat and MF. These findings suggest that a reduction in EI may be a useful preventative measure against the onset of carcinogenesis in humans. No correlations were found between alcohol intake and MF or between estimated antioxidant intake and MF. Thus, estimated intakes of antioxidants may not reflect their bioavailability and functional capacity in vivo and it may be more useful to examine actual plasma/cell levels vs. MF to establish if any significant relationship exists.