HomeCannabis MedicineKnowledge of Cannabinoid Content Among People Living with HIV Who Use Cannabis: a Daily Diary Study

Knowledge of Cannabinoid Content Among People Living with HIV Who Use Cannabis: a Daily Diary Study

October 5, 2023

Int J Behav Med. 2023 Oct 4. doi: 10.1007/s12529-023-10221-x. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Many people living with HIV (PLWH) use cannabis for medicinal reasons. Patients’ knowledge of the tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD) concentrations of the cannabis products they use may be important in helping patients achieve symptom relief while guarding against potential risks of cannabis use. However, no studies have examined cannabinoid concentration knowledge among PLWH.

METHOD: PLWH (N = 29; 76% men, mean age 47 years) reporting cannabis use for both medicinal and nonmedicinal reasons completed daily surveys over 14 days assessing cannabis products used, knowledge of cannabinoid concentrations of cannabis products used, cannabis use motives (medicinal, nonmedicinal, both), and positive and negative cannabis-related consequences. Across the 361 cannabis use days captured on the daily surveys, at least some knowledge of cannabinoid concentrations was reported on an average of 43.1% (for THC) and 26.6% (for CBD) of the days.

RESULTS: Generalized linear mixed models revealed that participants were more likely to report knowing THC and CBD concentrations on days when they used non-flower forms of cannabis relative to days when they used cannabis flower only. Participants who used cannabis for medicinal reasons on a greater proportion of days had greater knowledge of cannabinoid concentration overall across days. Further, greater overall knowledge of cannabinoid concentrations was associated with fewer reported negative cannabis-related consequences.

CONCLUSIONS: Findings suggest that among PLWH, knowledge of cannabinoid concentrations may be higher when using non-flower cannabis products and among those reporting primarily medicinal cannabis use. Moreover, knowledge of cannabinoid concentration may protect against negative cannabis-related consequences in this population.

PMID:37794278 | DOI:10.1007/s12529-023-10221-x

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About The Author

Patrick Blanchard MD

Meet Dr. Blanchard Dr. Blanchard’s medical practice is an embodiment of Integrative health which brings conventional and complementary approaches together in a coordinated way. Conveniently located in sunny Florida and over the internet with ValiseMD’s secure HIPPA compliant telXmed servers. Since 1994, patients with a wide range of challenging medical problems have achieved optimum health using the best of natural medicine, judiciously combined with high-tech innovations. Breakthroughs are often achieved even after patients have consulted mainstream specialists and holistic practitioners. Dr. Blanchard is founder and CEO of ValiseMD, Inc. He is board certified in Family Medicine since 1994 and awarded Fellow of the American Academy of Family Physicians in 2001. He received the ‘Teacher of the Year’ award from the University of Kansas School of Medicine at completion of his residency in Family Medicine. He completed a fellowship at Wake Forest University in the field of vascular neurosonology. He holds a medical patent in the field of Gastroenterology. He holds an unrestricted license to practice medicine and surgery in Florida. He started his medical career as a Emergency Medical Technician, then as a Paramedic and later a Medical Doctor.