Synthetic Cannabinoid Use and Abuse: A Study of Subjective Experiences
Products containing synthetic cannabinoids have been rapidly emerging as a new class of recreational drugs despite being labelled as “not for human consumption”. These products are marketed as legal highs that evoke similar physiological effects to tetrahydrocannabinol, and because of the legislative issues that allow numerous variations of these compounds to remain legal there is an assumed safety in their consumption. Despite the similar effects to cannabis use, the psychoactive and physiological effects of synthetic cannabinoids remain widely unknown due to the chemical variety of the compounds being consumed. As such, there is an increased need for research to facilitate the understanding of the pharmacological and psychotropic effects of these synthetic cannabinoids.
This research examines the use of synthetic cannabinoids within a Montreal population in the context of open-ended, qualitative interviews. Participants are being assessed in terms of basic demographics, drug supply, characteristics of synthetic cannabinoid product used, type of synthetic cannabinoid used (JWH, AM, WIN-55, 212-2, etc.), patterns of use and amount of substance used, and substance use profile (select items from MGH Addictions Unit intake form). Other questions are included to learn about the participants’ subjective experiences (positive vs. negative effects), the psychotropic and pharmacological effects of the substances used, reasons for substance use, subjective comparison to cannabis, and perceived safety of synthetic cannabinoid products.
The research participants will then be asked the same questions, though pertaining to their cannabis use. This comparison will facilitate the establishment of the synthetic cannabinoid user profile, and will help to determine the novelty of the synthetic cannabinoid experience.
- Objective 1: To determine the psychotropic and the pharmacological effects of synthetic cannabinoids.
- Objective 2: To examine the subjective experiences of synthetic cannabinoids.
This project is in progress.