Exploration of the perceptions held by older adults surrounding cannabis

Abstract

The history of cannabis prohibition in Canada is rooted in racism and it was not until 2018 that recreational cannabis was legalized in an attempt to curtail drug crime and to protect the health and safety of Canadians. Due to its long-standing criminal status, the limited existing research on cannabis has predominately explored addiction and the efficacy of cannabis as a treatment for various medical conditions, with a focus on young people. Nevertheless, statistics reveal an increase in cannabis use among older adults; therefore, it is important to explore what beliefs older adults possess that persuade or dissuade engagement with cannabis and to understand how they navigate their cannabis consumption. For the current study, data were collected from in-depth semi-structured qualitative interviews conducted with six older adults. General thematic analysis was used for coding and theme development. The findings demonstrate that 1) participants relied upon disclosing their membership to particular social groups as a means of communicating their worldviews and engagement with cannabis; 2) participants perceived the risks of cannabis to be equivalent to, or less than that of alcohol, other illicit substances, and prescription medications; 3) they credited the government control as a result of legalization as a factor in reducing some of the risks related to cannabis; and 4) during the years of prohibition, the risk of informal sanctions played a more pivotal role than formal sanctions in affecting their consumption and the behaviours they exhibited. The whiteness of the participants leads to the question of how instrumental one’s race is in affecting the apprehension of formal sanctions surrounding cannabis for older adults. Thus, future research is needed to explore perceptions and behaviours of older adults surrounding cannabis, from an intersectional lens.