Frequent cannabis users are way too high ... in their estimates of cannabinoids
In study at Hash Bash, frequent users reported low knowledge of, and substantially overestimated, cannabinoid content
April 15, 2020
Science Daily/University at Buffalo
Researchers surveyed nearly 500 Hash Bash attendees, asking them to fill out a 24-item questionnaire. Participants were asked to fill in, in milligrams, the amounts they considered to be effective doses of THC and CBD. They were way off.
One would think that cannabis enthusiasts attending a marijuana advocacy event would be knowledgeable about cannabinoids.
Not necessarily, according to the findings of a study by researchers from the University at Buffalo and the University of Michigan, who surveyed frequent cannabis users at an annual marijuana advocacy event held on the University of Michigan campus.
The surprisingly low level of knowledge about tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD) content, and effective dosages, demonstrated by Hash Bash participants highlights the need for additional public health education and research, according to Daniel Kruger, PhD, the lead author of the study, published online ahead of print today in the journal Drugs: Education, Prevention and Policy.
"Even the people who are most enthusiastic have very poor knowledge of cannabinoid content. They greatly overestimated how much THC and how much CBD was in various strains, and what the effective dosages were," said Kruger, a research associate professor of community health and health behavior in the UB's School of Public Health and Health Professions. He is also a research investigator with the Population Studies Center at the University of Michigan.
Researchers surveyed nearly 500 Hash Bash attendees, asking them to fill out a 24-item questionnaire. Two-thirds of participants reported using cannabis every day, and most said it was for health or medical purposes. More than three-quarters of survey-takers said their knowledge of cannabis came from their own experiences.
The study survey asked participants to fill in, in milligrams, the amounts they considered to be effective doses of THC and CBD. (THC is the principal psychoactive compound and the one largely responsible for the high experienced by users. CBD does not have the same psychoactivity, but has other effects, such as reduction of anxiety.) Participants could also check the box for "I don't know."
The majority reported they didn't know. Other participants gave average estimates of 91 milligrams for THC and 177 milligrams for CBD. In other words, they were way off.
"The average estimate for an effective dose of THC would actually be fatal in humans," Kruger said.
One participant even said 1 million milligrams was the effective dose for THC. "That's a kilogram of THC. That's enough to fill an entire football stadium full of people and get them all high," Kruger said.
Participants also were asked to fill in what they thought were the percentages for high and low THC strains, and high and low CBD strains. The majority (58%) believed that a low-THC strain of cannabis was 20% THC or higher -- a level that would actually be considered a high-THC strain. In addition, 22% believed that a low-THC strain of cannabis was 40% THC or higher, which exceeds the levels of anything available now.
For CBD, 86% felt that a low strain of cannabis was 10% CBD or higher, a level considered representative of a high-CBD strain of cannabis. Nearly half believed that a low strain was 30% CBD or higher, which exceeds the CBD level of any existing strain.
"Our results suggest the need for broad-based cannabis education programs to help advocates and the general public to better understand and manage their use of the drug," said study co-author, R. Lorraine Collins, PhD, associate dean for research in UB's School of Public Health and Health Professions.
The current paper is the latest in a series of studies Kruger and his UB colleagues have published in recent years, based on data collected at Hash Bash. Their findings have shown how little many cannabis users know about the drug. The researchers also have highlighted the lackluster public health efforts to promote an effective harm reduction approach to marijuana use, especially during an era when cannabis is being deregulated in many states.
The stakes are higher with an increasing percentage of Americans using cannabis for a variety of recreational and medical reasons, as well as increasing cannabis potency, researchers say.
"Cannabis strains are 20 times as potent today as they were during the Summer of Love," said study co-author Jessica Kruger, PhD, clinical assistant professor of community health and health behavior in UB's School of Public Health and Health Professions.
The main message: "We really have to educate people. This has very real consequences, because these compounds have differential effects," Daniel Kruger said.
"Most Americans now live in a state where cannabis is legal, at least for medical purposes, but the information channels aren't there regarding safe and effective cannabis use."
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/04/200415133416.htm
Cigarette smokers are 10 times more likely to be daily marijuana users
Strongest relationship between cigarette smoking and daily cannabis use is among 12 to 17 year olds, who are 50 times more likely to be daily cannabis users than non-smokers
November 30, 2017
Science Daily/Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health
Daily marijuana use has been on the rise over the past decade. Now, a new study by researchers at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health and the Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy, City University of New York, found that cigarette smokers are 10 times more likely to use marijuana on a daily basis. Marijuana use occurred nearly exclusively among current cigarette smokers -- daily or non-daily smokers -- compared with former smokers and those who have never smoked. However, even among non-smokers, daily marijuana use is increasing, particularly among youth and female cigarette smokers. The findings are published online in the American Journal of Public Health.
"While we found that daily cannabis use and cigarette smoking were strongly linked among all subgroups, the most finding striking disparity in daily cannabis use was among youths aged 12 to 17 years," said Renee Goodwin, PhD, Department of Epidemiology, Mailman School of Public Health, and principal investigator. "Nearly one-third of youth who smoke cigarettes reported using cannabis every day. In contrast, less than 1 percent of youth who did not use cigarettes reported daily cannabis use. We are not aware of any previous reports illustrating that daily cannabis use in youths occurs nearly exclusively among those who smoke cigarettes."
The researchers analyzed data from 725,010 individuals ages 12 and older in the National Survey on Drug Use and Health for 2002 to 2014 to determine differences in the prevalence of daily cannabis use. They found that an increase in daily cannabis use was significantly higher among nondaily cigarette smokers than among daily smokers and among former smokers than among never smokers.
Individuals who reported smoking fewer than 100 cigarettes in their lifetime were classified as never smokers; those who reported smoking 100 cigarettes or more in their lifetime and at least 1 cigarette within the past 30 days were considered to be current smokers. Those who smoked 1 to 29 days of the past 30 days were categorized as current nondaily smokers, and those who smoked all 30 of the past 30 days as current daily smokers. Individuals who reported smoking 100 cigarettes in their lifetime and no cigarettes in the past 30 days were grouped as former smokers.
Daily cannabis use increased since 2002 among both nondaily smokers (8 percent in 2014 compared with 3 percent in 2002) and daily smokers (9 percent in 2014 versus 5 percent in 2002). The increase in daily cannabis use was faster among non-daily cigarette smokers relative to daily cigarette smokers. Daily cannabis use increased most rapidly among former cigarette smokers (2.80 percent in 2014 versus 0.98 percent in 2002).
"Using marijuana as an alternative substance is viewed as less addictive, less harmful, and carrying less stigma than cigarettes," said Goodwin. "Some clinical data suggest that marijuana lessens the experience of nicotine withdrawal, and people who quit smoking cigarettes might substitute marijuana to lessen their withdrawal symptoms."
The fastest rates of increase of cannabis use overall were among those aged 26 years and older versus aged 12 to 17 years and 18 to 25 years. However, cigarette smokers aged 12 to 17 were 50 times more likely to be daily cannabis users than youth who do not use cigarettes. In 2014, 28 percent of daily cigarette smokers and 13 percent of non-daily cigarette smokers aged 12 to 17 used cannabis daily, suggesting that 40 percent of 12 to 17 year olds who smoke cigarettes used cannabis daily in 2014. Among female cigarette smokers, 4 percent used cannabis daily.
Cigarette smoking remains the leading preventable cause of disease and premature mortality in the United States. There have been substantial declines in smoking prevalence over the past half century in the United States, although the rate of this decline has decelerated in recent years among various groups.
"It is conceivable that this stunted decline in cigarette use is owing, in part, to the substantial increase in daily cannabis use among smokers," observed Goodwin.
"Understanding the degree to which daily cannabis use may be common among cigarette smokers is critical because previous findings suggest that any past month cannabis use is associated with smoking persistence and relapse," noted Goodwin.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/11/171130141037.htm