Use of Cannabis for Mental Health Grows During Covid-19
The ongoing pandemic's negative influence may lead individuals at higher risk of mental health issues to use substances to cope with stress factors
Curation and editing by Sechat Content, with information from The GrowthOp (Angela Stelmakowich)
The Covid-19 pandemic may have led to an increase in legal cannabis use in communities at high risk of developing mental health problems. This is suggested by a review of location data in the United States.
Nathaniel Ashby, Ph.D., a researcher at Harrisburg University of Science and Technology, considered location data from visitors to 3,335 cannabis stores. The analyzed stores cater to both medical and adult-use customers. The days between December 1, 2019, and April 30, 2020, were examined.
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As the pandemic began, individuals who reported a higher average number of days with impaired mental health (aMUDs) showed more visits to cannabis retailers. As noted by Ashby in the study, published online in the Journal of Addictive Diseases. Participants were asked to consider their mental health - including stress, depression, and emotional issues - and how many days during the last month their mental health was not good.
As a result, anonymous location data provided a count of the number of visitors to cannabis retail locations. These visitor counts were combined with the average number of reported aMUDs in the county where the retailer was located. Additionally, they were combined with the county's population and poverty rate estimates, as noted in the study.
Concerning Results
However, the results are concerning. The ongoing negative influence of the pandemic may lead individuals at higher risk of mental health problems 'to use substances to cope with stress factors,' suggests Ashby.
“Measures taken to preserve the overall health of society (e.g., social distancing and staying at home) are potentially having a disproportionately negative impact on at-risk populations that may be felt long after the Covid-19 threat diminishes,” the study states.
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Furthermore, a Canadian study published last December showed that cannabis use in the general population remained stable between May and June.
However, for those who used marijuana regularly, about half increased their consumption compared to before the pandemic. This increase generally persisted throughout May and June. Those most likely to have reported increased use included: ages 18 to 29, less than a college education, and being somewhat concerned about the impact of the pandemic on personal finances.
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The increase suggests 'a need for interventions to limit the growing use of cannabis, policy measures to address cannabis-related harm, and ongoing monitoring of cannabis use during and after the pandemic,' as noted in the study.
Proven Increase in Cannabis Use in Other Studies
Information released in early 2020 by New Frontier Data indicates that 42% of current cannabis consumers in the US report increased overall consumption during the pandemic, with 25% of respondents citing a slight increase, 18% noting a significant increase, 42% reporting consistent use, and 16% stating decreased use.
In the latest study, Ashby suggests that the results 'highlight the value that location data can provide to policymakers and professionals in discovering community-level trends as they face an increasingly uncertain scenario.'