Project 465648

There is active popular interest and a growing public health need to better understand the impacts of cannabis on Canadians in the era of legalization and regulation. The impacts of this policy framework among emerging adults (EA) and structurally-marginalized people who use drugs (PWUD) are of particular concern given high rates of cannabis initiation and use, as well as vulnerability to drug-related harm among these populations. The uptake of cannabis products from regulated sources is an important measure of the performance of Canada's public health framework for cannabis since products from the unregulated market (e.g., high-THC edibles, synthetic cannabinoids) can exacerbate the risk of cannabis-related harms. Characterizing patterns of cannabis access, identifying barriers to using regulated products, and investigating links with cannabis-related harms and potential benefits among members of high-risk populations will help inform measures to promote transitions into the regulated market and increase engagement with the public health framework. In light of these knowledge gaps, we propose to address the following research questions: 1.What are the barriers and facilitators of accessing regulated cannabis markets? 2.How do cannabis access patterns promote or reduce the risk of cannabis-related harms? 3.What are the links between cannabis access patterns and outcomes from cannabis substitution and other therapeutic uses of cannabis? Our team of established and emerging investigators has extensive expertise in epidemiology and public health, drug use and addiction, psychology, and the translation of research findings into public policy and clinical practice. In collaboration with our knowledge users, our proposed activities will leverage existing data sources from two sentinel populations (four ongoing longitudinal cohorts) to produce novel policy- and practice-relevant evidence to maximize the benefits of the legal and regulated cannabis framework.