Are dispensaries indispensable? Patient experiences of access to cannabis from medical cannabis dispensaries in Canada

Capler, Rielle; Walsh, Zach; Crosby, Kim; Belle-Isle, Lynne; Holtzman, Susan; Lucas, Philippe; Callaway, Robert

doi:10.1016/j.drugpo.2017.05.046

Cited by 39 publications

(40 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…Even though a recent article has described some aspects of U.S. dispensaries' online practices and information about cannabis [27], thus far there are no reports on the strength of cannabis products offered in legal medical cannabis programs across the United States (U.S.), and how this compares to recreational programs. The clinical relevance of such information relies on the fact that this information could be considered safe by patients, which may strongly influence their attitude towards cannabis as medicine [9]. In addition, this study seeks to uncover whether the reported potency of cannabis products marketed online are in line with the few reports on the potency of products measured at different times, settings, techniques, and laboratories [28,29].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 96%

“…Interestingly, online presence of cannabis products is associated with positive attitudes towards the medicinal properties of cannabis [8]. More importantly, it has been demonstrated that information provided by dispensaries is highly regarded by patients as safe and reliable [9]. Providing wrong information via online advertisements represents a high risk for public health, as evidenced by the recent concern expressed by the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) towards online offers and claims about cannabis products [10].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Mapping cannabis potency in medical and recreational programs in the United States

et al. 2020

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Cannabis related online searches are associated with positive attitudes toward medical cannabis, particularly when information is obtained from dispensaries. Since pain is the main reason for medicinal cannabis use, information from dispensary websites has the potential to shape the attitude of pain patients towards cannabis. This is relevant because cannabis has demonstrated efficacy in neuropathic pain with low tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) concentrations (< 5-10%), in contrast to potent cannabis (>15% THC), which is highly rewarded in the recreational realm. The role of CBD in pain is not clear, however it has gained popularity. Thus, we hypothesize that the potency of medical cannabis that is advertised online is similar to the cannabis advertised for recreational purposes, which would potentially create a misconception towards medical cannabis. The current lack of knowledge surrounding advertised potencies in the legal cannabis market limits the ability to generate clear policies regarding online advertising to protect patients that are willing to use cannabis for their condition. Thus, we evaluated the advertised THC and CBD content of cannabis products offered online in dispensaries in the United States to determine products' suitability to medicinal use and compare the strength of products offered in legal medical and recreational programs. We recorded THC and CBD concentrations for all herb cannabis products provided by dispensary websites and compared them between or within states. Four Western states (CA, CO, NM, WA) and five Northeastern states (ME, MA, NH, RI, VT) were included. A total of 8,505 cannabis products across 653 dispensaries were sampled. Despite the clear differences between medicinal and recreational uses of cannabis, the average THC concentration advertised online in medicinal programs was similar (19.2% ±6.2) to recreational programs (21.5% ±6.0) when compared between states with different programs, or between medicinal and recreational programs within the same states (CO or WA). Lower CBD concentrations accompanied higher THC products. The majority of products, regardless of medicinal or recreational programs, were advertised to have >15% THC (70.3%-91.4% of products). These stated concentrations seem unsuitable for medicinal purposes, particularly for patients with chronic neuropathic pain. Therefore, this information could induce the misconception that high potency cannabis is safe to treat pain. This data is consistent with reports in which THC and CBD in products from legal dispensaries or in

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 96%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mapping cannabis potency in medical and recreational programs in the United States

et al. 2020

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“…El cultivo es difícil de controlar, y puede generar consecuencias indeseadas ya que potencia que menores de edad tengan acceso a productos de cannabis y a la vez exponen a muchos individuos que no son usuarios, a las consecuencias adversas del cultivo y uso de cannabis en entornos domésticos (Fischer et al, 2017). Capler et al, (2017) enuncia que los dispensarios de cannabis medicinal son ampliamente accesibles para el uso con fines terapéuticos. A pesar de que las ventas de cannabis en las tiendas son ilegales en Canadá, 1 se cuenta con un programa federal que utiliza dispensarios.…”

Section: Umc Y Cultivounclassified

Uso medicinal de cannabis: una revisión de la evidencia

et al. 2019

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Este estudio pretende reportar la evidencia actual sobre el uso medicinal de cannabis existente en la base de datos Scopus. Se llevó a cabo una revisión sistemática de las publicaciones científicas, entre el periodo 2013-2017, disponibles en Scopus sobre el uso medicinal de cannabis. Estados Unidos es el país con mayor cantidad de publicaciones, seguido de Canadá e Israel; existiendo un aumento progresivo y constante de la evidencia entre los años 2013 y 2017. Los contenidos de las publicaciones versan sobre efectos beneficiosos y adversos para la salud, consecuencias de la legislación del cannabis y su asociación con diversas variables. Existe una falta de estudios en uso medicinal de cannabis respecto a tratamientos y enfermedades, su estandarización, vías de administración y dosis, dando cuenta de la necesidad de un volumen mayor de investigaciones al respecto.

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“…In Vancouver, our study setting, the municipal police department has followed a de facto policy of cannabis use decriminalization since 2005. Beginning in 2015, retail storefronts selling cannabis to adults have proliferated and a high degree of judicial discretion has been applied to determine individual penalties for street-level cannabis selling (Capler et al, 2017;Coomber et al, 2018). In an effort to understand the possible impacts of cannabis legalization and regulation on the health, well-being and economic security of PWUD in Canada, we sought to estimate the prevalence and correlates of selling illicit cannabis in a de facto decriminalized jurisdiction prior to the implementation of non-medical cannabis legalization and regulation.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Prevalence and correlates of selling illicit cannabis among people who use drugs in Vancouver, Canada: A ten-year prospective cohort study

Reddon

Fast

Werb

et al. 2019

International Journal of Drug Policy

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Background: The illicit selling and use of cannabis is prevalent among marginalized people who use illicit drugs (PWUD). Given that participation in illicit drug markets has been previously associated with a range of health and social harms, we sought to examine the predictors of selling cannabis among PWUD in Vancouver, Canada, a setting with a de facto legalized cannabis market, on the eve of the planned implementation of legalized non-medical cannabis including measures to regulate the existing illicit market. Methods: Multivariable generalized estimating equations (GEE) logistic regression was used to analyze longitudinal factors associated with selling illicit cannabis among three prospective cohorts of PWUD between September 2005 and May 2015.

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Are dispensaries indispensable? Patient experiences of access to cannabis from medical cannabis dispensaries in Canada

Cited by 39 publications

References 23 publications

Mapping cannabis potency in medical and recreational programs in the United States

Mapping cannabis potency in medical and recreational programs in the United States

Uso medicinal de cannabis: una revisión de la evidencia

Prevalence and correlates of selling illicit cannabis among people who use drugs in Vancouver, Canada: A ten-year prospective cohort study

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