# Perspectives regarding cannabis use: Results from a qualitative study of individuals engaged in substance use treatment in Georgia and Connecticut

## TL;DR

This study explores how people in substance use treatment in Georgia and Connecticut view cannabis, finding mixed beliefs about its role in addiction and health.

## Contribution

The study provides new qualitative insights into how cannabis is perceived among individuals in substance use treatment in two U.S. states.

## Key findings

- Participants linked cannabis use to the initiation of other substance use in adolescence.
- Some viewed cannabis as a medicinal substance with fewer side effects than prescription drugs.
- Cannabis use was seen as risky due to potential legal and treatment-related consequences.

## Abstract

Cannabis use is increasingly pervasive throughout the U.S. People in treatment for substance use disorders (SUD) may be especially at-risk of harm due to this changing context of cannabis in the U.S. This study’s objective was to qualitatively describe experiences and beliefs around cannabis among people who had entered treatment for any SUD in the past 12-months.

From May to November of 2022, we conducted 27 semi-structured interviews (n=16 in Georgia, n=11 in Connecticut) with individuals in treatment for SUD in Georgia and Connecticut. Interviews were recorded, transcribed, and thematically analyzed using an emergent approach.

All participants had used cannabis in the past. Four themes emerged from the interviews. Participants: (1) perceived cannabis as an important contributor to non-cannabis substance use initiation in adolescence; (2) viewed cannabis as a substance with the potential to improve health with fewer side effects than prescription medications; (3) expressed conflicting opinions regarding cannabis as a trigger or tool to manage cravings for other non-cannabis substances currently; and 4) described concerns related to negative legal, social service, and treatment-related consequences as well as negative peer perception relating to the use of cannabis.

Although participants described cannabis’s important role as an initiatory drug in adolescence and young adulthood, many felt that cannabis was a medicinal substance for a range of health challenges. These findings suggest SUD treatment clinicians should address medicinal beliefs related to cannabis among their clients and emphasizes the need for research on cannabis use and SUD treatment outcomes.

•People in SUD treatment associate cannabis with the initiation of substance use in adolescence and early adulthood.•Some people in SUD treatment see cannabis as a trigger for other substance use.•Others in SUD treatment believe cannabis may be a beneficial, medicinal substance.•People in SUD treatment noted using cannabis risked treatment-related consequences like involuntary treatment separation.

People in SUD treatment associate cannabis with the initiation of substance use in adolescence and early adulthood.

Some people in SUD treatment see cannabis as a trigger for other substance use.

Others in SUD treatment believe cannabis may be a beneficial, medicinal substance.

People in SUD treatment noted using cannabis risked treatment-related consequences like involuntary treatment separation.