Project 466774

The goal of my proposed research is to increase our understanding of the relationship between cannabis use and mental health treatment in Canadian veterans. Rates of PTSD, chronic pain, and other mental health conditions are higher amongst veterans than in the general Canadian population. Increasingly, veterans are using medical cannabis to cope with conditions such as PTSD or chronic pain. There is a lack of research on what kinds of cannabis use (i.e. type, method, amount, frequency) might be helpful or harmful, especially as it applies to veterans undergoing treatment for PTSD. Psychotherapeutic treatment is often the first recommended treatment for PTSD, and cannabis use is linked to individuals' PTSD symptoms not improving as much with treatment. As more veterans choose to use cannabis, it is important to understand why this may be. My research will look at factors that might explain this relationship (such as chronic pain, treatment adherence, and depression) as well as characteristics of cannabis use, general functioning, and PTSD symptoms prior to and after treatment for PTSD. This will provide insight into how these various factors might relate to and influence each other over a course of treatment. Additionally, I will be conducting interviews with veterans who used cannabis during their course of treatment, in order to understand their lived experience and how they feel cannabis use impacted both their condition and their treatment for it. This topic has been identified as a priority by leadership staff at a clinic that is part of a national network of clinics who focus on treating this population: thus, clinically relevant findings will be easily shared with others whose share the goal of treating and improving mental health conditions in veterans.