Impact of recreational cannabis legalization on patient self-reporting of cannabis use at a pharmacist-led primary care clinic

Abstract

BackgroundThe Cannabis Act, introduced in Canada in 2018, legalized the use of recreational cannabis. The impact of the announcement and implementation of this act on patient self-reporting of cannabis use has not been explored. ObjectiveThe study objective was to determine if patient self-reported cannabis use increased after the announcement and implementation of legislative changes to legalize recreational cannabis. MethodsA repeated cross-sectional design was used for a retrospective chart review of patients seen at a pharmacist-led primary care clinic. A convenience sample of patient records was divided into 3 panels, corresponding with the preannouncement (November 1, 2013-October 4, 2015), postannouncement (October 5, 2015-October 16, 2018), and postimplementation (October 17, 2018-October 17, 2019) stages of the legalization of recreational cannabis. Search terms used included cannabis, marijuana, marihuana, recreational drugs, natur∗, medicinal, pot, joint, oil, butter, brownies, edibles, cannabin∗, THC, tetrahydro∗, sativa, and indica (∗ = string wild card). The frequency of reporting use and the number of queries related to cannabis were assessed. The analysis of variance test and Pearson correlation (chi-square) were used to compare the 3 panels. ResultsA total of 298 patient charts were included in the analysis. One hundred, 99, and 99 patient charts corresponded with panels 1, 2, and 3, respectively. At each time point, 6%, 8%, and 14% of the patients reported cannabis use (P = 0.03). A statistically significant increase in topical oil use and a decrease in prescription tablet or capsule use between panels 1 and 3 (P = 0.036) were identified. ConclusionThis study found an increase in self-reporting of cannabis use across the 3 consecutive panels. The change in the product formulations used may reflect the various products available. Frontline pharmacists are encouraged to initiate conversations regarding cannabis use as part of routine practice.