Prevalence and correlates of non-medical only compared to self-defined medical and non-medical cannabis use, Canada, 2015.

BACKGROUND: The Canadian federal government has committed to legalizing non-medical cannabis use by adults in 2018. Medical use was legalized in 2001; however, not all people reporting medical use have medical authorization. To prepare for monitoring the effects of the policy change, a greater understanding of the prevalence of cannabis use and the characteristics of all cannabis users is needed.

DATA AND METHODS: Data from the 2015 Canadian Tobacco, Alcohol and Drugs Survey (CTADS) were used to estimate prevalence and examine reasons for medical use and factors associated with people who reported using cannabis Non-Medically Only (NMO), compared with people who reported Self-Defined Medical and Non-Medical use (SDMNM), including use of other drugs and the non-therapeutic use of psychoactive pharmaceuticals.

RESULTS: In 2015, 9.5% of Canadians aged 15 and older reported NMO cannabis use, while another 2.8% reported SDMNM use. Half of Canadians reporting some self-defined medical use cited pain as the primary reason. Daily and near-daily use was significantly more common among SDMNM users (47.2%) than among individuals considered NMO users (26.4%). Past-year cannabis users of any type were more likely to be male and younger, to have used other illicit drugs and at least one of three classes of psychoactive pharmaceutical drugs non-therapeutically, and to be daily smokers or heavy drinkers. SDMNM cannabis use was more common among people reporting worse health (general and mental), use of psychoactive pharmaceuticals, and living in lower-income households.

DISCUSSION: Because non-medical cannabis use is common to both user groups analyzed, many similarities were anticipated. Nevertheless, SDMNM users also had several unique characteristics consistent with use to address medical problems. However, because the CTADS does not collect information about whether the individual has received a health care practitioner's authorization to use cannabis for a medical purpose this analysis should not be interpreted as an evaluation of people who access cannabis through Health Canada's medical access program, the Access Cannabis for Medical Purposes Regulations (ACMPR).