Abstract
BackgroundGiven the high rates of cannabis use among Canadian youth and that adolescence is a critical period for cannabis use trajectories, the purpose of this paper was to examine the effect of the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic period on youth cannabis use in the context of a natural experiment.We used 3-year linked data from the COMPASS study, including 7653 Canadian (Quebec, Ontario) adolescents from which 1937 completed all 3 survey waves (pre-COVID-19 [2018, 2019] and online [2020] during the early pandemic period [May–July 2020]). Structural equation modeling (SEM) and double difference (DD) models were used to estimate pre-COVID-19 to initial COVID-19 pandemic period change (2019–2020) in cannabis use (monthly, weekly, daily) compared to 2018 to 2019 change to adjust for age-related effects. Models were adjusted for age of entry into the cohort and sociodemographic characteristics.ResultsIn the SEM and DD models, monthly, weekly, and daily cannabis use increased across all waves; however, the expected increases from the pre-COVID-19 wave (2019) to the initial COVID-19 period wave (2020) were lesser relative to the changes seen across the 2018 to 2019 waves. The cross-sectional data from May to July 2020 identified that the majority of youth who use cannabis did not report increased cannabis use due to COVID-19 or using cannabis to cope with COVID-19.ConclusionDuring the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic period, there does not appear to be a detrimental effect on youth cannabis use, when adjusted for age-related changes. Further prospective research is needed to explore the impact of the ongoing pandemic response on youth cannabis use onset and progression.
Highlights
Given the high rates of cannabis use among Canadian youth and that adolescence is a critical period for cannabis use trajectories, the purpose of this paper was to examine the effect of the early stages of the COVID19 pandemic period on youth cannabis use in the context of a natural experiment
Using cross-sectional data collected during the early pandemic period, we examine solitary use of cannabis, changes in cannabis use as a result of COVID19, and using cannabis to cope with COVID-19 related negative effects among past year cannabis users
Across all three cannabis use outcomes modelled, even after accounting for predictors of selfselection in the 2020 sample, the negative estimated causal effects shown for the difference-in-difference results (− 5.7% for monthly use, − 3.0% for weekly use, and − 0.3% for daily use), support the hypothesis that there was a reduction in the expected escalation of cannabis use within the sample during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic period
Summary
Given the high rates of cannabis use among Canadian youth and that adolescence is a critical period for cannabis use trajectories, the purpose of this paper was to examine the effect of the early stages of the COVID19 pandemic period on youth cannabis use in the context of a natural experiment. Since cannabis use habits are commonly established in adolescence and can profoundly affect subsequent trajectories as youth mature and progress into adulthood [6, 7], improving our understanding of cannabis use and factors associated with changes in cannabis use behaviour over time is critical for informing future prevention efforts. This is especially important given the many adverse outcomes associated with early onset and frequent cannabis use [7,8,9,10]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary 
Published Version (
Free)
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call