1,345
Views
78
CrossRef citations to date
0
Altmetric
Research Article

Cannabis as a substitute for alcohol and other drugs: A dispensary-based survey of substitution effect in Canadian medical cannabis patients

, , , , , & show all
Pages 435-442 | Received 02 May 2012, Accepted 20 Sep 2012, Published online: 20 Nov 2012

Keep up to date with the latest research on this topic with citation updates for this article.

Read on this site (11)

Veevarin Charoenporn, Thammanard Charernboon & Clare J Mackie. (2023) Medical Cannabis as a Substitute for Prescription Agents: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. Journal of Substance Use 28:4, pages 522-534.
Read now
Deepika E. Slawek, Julia Arnsten, Nancy Sohler, Chenshu Zhang, Robert Grossberg, Melissa Stein & Chinazo O. Cunningham. (2021) Daily and near-daily cannabis use is associated with HIV viral load suppression in people living with HIV who use cocaine. AIDS Care 33:10, pages 1350-1357.
Read now
Silas Xuereb, Hyoun S. Kim, Luke Clark & Michael J. A. Wohl. (2021) Substitution behaviors among people who gamble during COVID-19 precipitated casino closures. International Gambling Studies 21:3, pages 411-425.
Read now
Barak Shapira, Ronny Berkovitz, Paola Rosca, Shaul Lev-Ran, Alexander Kaptsan & Yehuda Neumark. (2021) Why Switch? - Motivations for Self-Substitution of Illegal Drugs. Substance Use & Misuse 56:5, pages 627-638.
Read now
Bradley J. Bartos, Charis E. Kubrin, Carol Newark & Richard McCleary. (2020) Medical Marijuana Laws and Suicide. Archives of Suicide Research 24:2, pages 204-217.
Read now
Miroslav Verbič, Mitja Čok & Petar Perić. (2019) An economic analysis of the illegal marijuana market in Slovenia. Economic Research-Ekonomska Istraživanja 32:1, pages 657-672.
Read now
Rachel L. Goldberg & Janine K. Cataldo. (2018) Marijuana and Prescription Pain Reliever Use among Cigarette Smokers. Journal of Psychoactive Drugs 50:4, pages 339-347.
Read now
James M Corroon$suffix/text()$suffix/text(), Laurie K Mischley & Michelle Sexton. (2017) Cannabis as a substitute for prescription drugs – a cross-sectional study. Journal of Pain Research 10, pages 989-998.
Read now
Benedikt Fischer, Anca R. Ialomiteanu, Samantha Aeby, Katherine Rudzinski, Paul Kurdyak & Jürgen Rehm. (2017) Substance Use, Health, and Functioning Characteristics of Medical Marijuana Program Participants Compared to the General Adult Population in Ontario (Canada). Journal of Psychoactive Drugs 49:1, pages 31-38.
Read now
Nancy Jo Kepple, Elycia Mulholland, Bridget Freisthler & Elizabeth Schaper. (2016) Correlates of Amount Spent on Marijuana Buds During a Discrete Purchase at Medical Marijuana Dispensaries: Results from a Pilot Study. Journal of Psychoactive Drugs 48:1, pages 50-55.
Read now

Articles from other publishers (67)

Aaron Bailey, Myles Harps, Clint Belcher, Henry Williams, Cecil Amos, Brent Donovan, George Sedore, SOLID Victoria, Brittany Graham, Sybil Goulet-Stock, Jenny Cartwright, Jennifer Robinson, Amanda Farrell-Low, Mark Willson, Christy Sutherland, Tim Stockwell & Bernie Pauly. (2023) Translating the lived experience of illicit drinkers into program guidance for cannabis substitution: Experiences from the Canadian Managed Alcohol Program Study. International Journal of Drug Policy 122, pages 104244.
Crossref
Janice MokM.-J. Milloy, Cameron GrantStephanie LakeKora DeBeckKanna HayashiThomas KerrM. Eugenia Socías. (2023) Use of Cannabis as a Harm Reduction Strategy Among People Who Use Drugs: A Cohort Study. Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research 8:4, pages 670-678.
Crossref
Vendula Belackova, Marta Rychert, Chris Wilkins & Mafalda Pardal. (2023) Cannabis Social Clubs in Contemporary Legalization Reforms: Talking Consumption Sites and Social Justice. Clinical Therapeutics 45:6, pages 551-559.
Crossref
Ellen T. Kurtzman & Jessica Greene. (2023) How Are Patients Who Legally Use Medical Marijuana Treated When Hospitalized?. Policy, Politics, & Nursing Practice, pages 152715442311686.
Crossref
Jan Moritz Fischer, Michael Jeitler, Sarah Beverly Blakeslee & Christian Kessler. (2023) Medical Cannabinoids as Treatment for Hypophosphatasia-Related Symptoms. Complementary Medicine Research 30:1, pages 84-88.
Crossref
Sarah B. Windle, Peter Socha, José Ignacio Nazif-Munoz, Sam Harper & Arijit Nandi. (2022) The Impact of Cannabis Decriminalization and Legalization on Road Safety Outcomes: A Systematic Review. American Journal of Preventive Medicine 63:6, pages 1037-1052.
Crossref
Fúlvio Rieli Mendes, Cristiane dos Santos Costa, Victor Distefano Wiltenburg, Gabriela Morales-Lima, João Ariel Bonar Fernandes & Renato Filev. (2022) Classic and non‐classic psychedelics for substance use disorder: A review of their historic, past and current research. Addiction Neuroscience 3, pages 100025.
Crossref
Angela J Pereira-Morales & Javier Hernando Eslava-Schmalbach. (2022) Do alcohol and cannabis substitute or complement each other? Analysis from behavioral economics for formulating public policy on substance use in Colombia. Translational Behavioral Medicine 12:6, pages 734-741.
Crossref
Dimitri Daldegan-Bueno, Lucas O. Maia, Michelle Glass, Didier Jutras-Aswad & Benedikt Fischer. (2021) Co-exposure of cannabinoids with amphetamines and biological, behavioural and health outcomes: a scoping review of animal and human studies. Psychopharmacology 239:5, pages 1211-1230.
Crossref
Collin M. Calvert & Darin Erickson. (2021) Recreational cannabis legalization and alcohol purchasing: a difference-in-differences analysis. Journal of Cannabis Research 3:1.
Crossref
Bernie Pauly, Meaghan Brown, Clifton Chow, Ashley Wettlaufer, Brittany Graham, Karen Urbanoski, Russell Callaghan, Cindy Rose, Michelle Jordan, Tim Stockwell, Gerald Thomas & Christy Sutherland. (2021) “If I knew I could get that every hour instead of alcohol, I would take the cannabis”: need and feasibility of cannabis substitution implementation in Canadian managed alcohol programs. Harm Reduction Journal 18:1.
Crossref
Hirak Shah, Meg Fraser, Arianne C. Agdamag, Valmiki Maharaj, Bellony Nzemenoh, Cindy M. Martin, Tamas Alexy & Daniel J. Garry. (2021) Cardiac Transplantation and the Use of Cannabis. Life 11:10, pages 1063.
Crossref
Vivian So, Andrew D Millard, S Vittal Katikireddi, Ross Forsyth, Sarah Allstaff, Paolo Deluca, Colin Drummond, Allison Ford, Douglas Eadie, Niamh Fitzgerald, Lesley Graham, Shona Hilton, Anne Ludbrook, Gerry McCartney, Oarabile Molaodi, Michele Open, Chris Patterson, Samantha Perry, Thomas Phillips, Gabriel Schembri, Martine Stead, Janet Wilson, Chris Yap, Lyndal Bond & Alastair H Leyland. (2021) Intended and unintended consequences of the implementation of minimum unit pricing of alcohol in Scotland: a natural experiment. Public Health Research 9:11, pages 1-210.
Crossref
Dimitri Daldegan-Bueno, Lucas O. Maia, Michelle Glass, Didier Jutras-Aswad & Benedikt Fischer. (2021) Co-exposure of cocaine and cannabinoids and its association with select biological, behavioural and health outcomes: A systematic scoping review of multi-disciplinary studies. European Neuropsychopharmacology 51, pages 106-131.
Crossref
James Siklos-Whillans, Alia Bacchus & Laurie A. Manwell. (2020) A Scoping Review of the Use of Cannabis and Its Extracts as Potential Harm Reduction Strategies: Insights from Preclinical and Clinical Research. International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction 19:5, pages 1527-1550.
Crossref
Sinikka L. Kvamme, Michael M. Pedersen, Kristine Rømer Thomsen & Birgitte Thylstrup. (2021) Exploring the use of cannabis as a substitute for prescription drugs in a convenience sample. Harm Reduction Journal 18:1.
Crossref
Prachi Arora, Andrew Johnson, Rasitha Jayasekare & Karishma Desai. (2021) Association between marijuana use and nonmedical prescription opioid use in the United States: are we shifting from one epidemic to another?. Journal of Public Health Policy 42:2, pages 310-321.
Crossref
Maryellen Gibson, Linzi Williamson, Gerald Henwood, Darlene Chalmers & Colleen Anne Dell. (2021) Perceptions and Use of Alcohol and Medical Cannabis among Canadian Military Veterans Living with PTSD. Journal of Veterans Studies 7:1, pages 59.
Crossref
Michał Graczyk, Małgorzata Łukowicz & Tomasz Dzierzanowski. (2021) Prospects for the Use of Cannabinoids in Psychiatric Disorders. Frontiers in Psychiatry 12.
Crossref
Rachel Carmen Ceasar, Alex H. Kral, Kelsey Simpson, Lynn Wenger, Jesse L. Goldshear & Ricky N. Bluthenthal. (2021) Factors associated with health-related cannabis use intentions among a community sample of people who inject drugs in Los Angeles and San Francisco, CA 2016 to 2018. Drug and Alcohol Dependence 219, pages 108421.
Crossref
Jeffrey D. Wardell, Sergio Rueda, Tara Elton-Marshall, Robert E. Mann & Hayley A. Hamilton. (2021) Prevalence and Correlates of Medicinal Cannabis Use Among Adolescents. Journal of Adolescent Health 68:1, pages 103-109.
Crossref
Hollis C. Karoly, Raeghan L. Mueller, Chrysta C. Andrade & Kent E. Hutchison. (2020) Investigating Relationships Between Alcohol and Cannabis Use in an Online Survey of Cannabis Users: A Focus on Cannabinoid Content and Cannabis for Medical Purposes. Frontiers in Psychiatry 11.
Crossref
Philippe Lucas, Susan Boyd, M-J Milloy & Zach Walsh. (2020) Reductions in alcohol use following medical cannabis initiation: results from a large cross-sectional survey of medical cannabis patients in Canada. International Journal of Drug Policy 86, pages 102963.
Crossref
Constanza Risso, Sadie Boniface, Meenakshi Sabina Subbaraman & Amir Englund. (2020) Does cannabis complement or substitute alcohol consumption? A systematic review of human and animal studies. Journal of Psychopharmacology 34:9, pages 938-954.
Crossref
Jeremy B. Bernerth & H. Jack Walker. (2020) Altered States or Much to Do About Nothing? A Study of When Cannabis Is Used in Relation to the Impact It Has on Performance. Group & Organization Management 45:4, pages 459-478.
Crossref
Braedon Paul, Madison Thulien, Rod Knight, M. J. Milloy, Ben Howard, Scarlett Nelson & Danya Fast. (2020) “Something that actually works”: Cannabis use among young people in the context of street entrenchment. PLOS ONE 15:7, pages e0236243.
Crossref
Barak Shapira, Paola Rosca, Ronny Berkovitz, Igor Gorjaltsan & Yehuda Neumark. (2020) The switch from one substance-of-abuse to another: illicit drug substitution behaviors in a sample of high-risk drug users. PeerJ 8, pages e9461.
Crossref
Temitope Ajibawo, Uvie Ajibawo-Aganbi, Farla Jean-Louis & Rikinkumar S Patel. (2020) Congestive Heart Failure Hospitalizations and Cannabis Use Disorder (2010–2014): National Trends and Outcomes. Cureus.
Crossref
Christopher Mace, Elena Patel & Nathan Seegert. (2020) MARIJUANA TAXATION AND IMPERFECT COMPETITION. National Tax Journal 73:2, pages 545-592.
Crossref
Patrick Wright, Zach Walsh, Shari Margolese, Tatiana Sanchez, Stephanie Arlt, Lynne Belle-Isle, Michelle St.Pierre, Alan Bell, Paul Daeninck, Marilou Gagnon, Gary Lacasse, Caroline MacCallum, Enrico Mandarino, Janet Yale, James O'Hara & Cecilia Costiniuk. (2020) Canadian clinical practice guidelines for the use of plant-based cannabis and cannabinoid-based products in the management of chronic non-cancer pain and co-occurring conditions: protocol for a systematic literature review. BMJ Open 10:5, pages e036114.
Crossref
Jenna Valleriani, Rebecca Haines-Saah, Rielle Capler, Ricky Bluthenthal, M. Eugenia Socias, MJ Milloy, Thomas Kerr & Ryan McNeil. (2020) The emergence of innovative cannabis distribution projects in the downtown eastside of Vancouver, Canada. International Journal of Drug Policy 79, pages 102737.
Crossref
Ekaterina V. Fedorova, Alexis M. Roth, Alice Cepeda, Carolyn F. Wong, Ellen Iverson & Stephen E. Lankenau. (2020) The Role of Life Events/Contextual Factors and Cannabis Use in Patterns of Other Drug Use Among Young Adult Cannabis Users in Los Angeles: A Qualitative Inquiry. Journal of Drug Issues 50:2, pages 157-172.
Crossref
Rhet A. Smith. (2019) THE EFFECTS OF MEDICAL MARIJUANA DISPENSARIES ON ADVERSE OPIOID OUTCOMES. Economic Inquiry 58:2, pages 569-588.
Crossref
Stanford Chihuri & Guohua Li. (2019) State marijuana laws and opioid overdose mortality. Injury Epidemiology 6:1.
Crossref
Stephanie Lake, Zach Walsh, Thomas Kerr, Ziva D. Cooper, Jane Buxton, Evan Wood, Mark A. Ware & M. J. Milloy. (2019) Frequency of cannabis and illicit opioid use among people who use drugs and report chronic pain: A longitudinal analysis. PLOS Medicine 16:11, pages e1002967.
Crossref
Julie H. Ishida, Peggy O. Wong, Beth E. Cohen, Marzieh Vali, Stacey Steigerwald & Salomeh Keyhani. (2019) Substitution of marijuana for opioids in a national survey of US adults. PLOS ONE 14:10, pages e0222577.
Crossref
Joanne Spetz, Susan A. Chapman, Timothy Bates, Matthew Jura & Laura A. Schmidt. (2019) Social and Political Factors Associated With State-Level Legalization of Cannabis in the United States. Contemporary Drug Problems 46:2, pages 165-179.
Crossref
Yuyan Shi, Di Liang, Yuhua Bao, Ruopeng An, Mark S. Wallace & Igor Grant. (2019) Recreational marijuana legalization and prescription opioids received by Medicaid enrollees. Drug and Alcohol Dependence 194, pages 13-19.
Crossref
Zachary L. Mannes, Erin G. Ferguson, Larry E. Burrell, Robert L. Cook & Nicole Ennis. (2018) Brief report: the association between recreational versus therapeutic marijuana use on hazardous alcohol consumption and alcohol-associated behavioral consequences among adults living with HIV in Florida. Harm Reduction Journal 15:1.
Crossref
Thomas M. ClarkJessica M. JonesAlexis G. HallSara A. TabnerRebecca L. Kmiec. (2018) Theoretical Explanation for Reduced Body Mass Index and Obesity Rates in Cannabis Users . Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research 3:1, pages 259-271.
Crossref
Jeffrey D. Wardell, Paul A. Shuper & Christian S. Hendershot. (2018) A longitudinal investigation of the association between cannabis use and alcohol use among people living with HIV. Drug and Alcohol Dependence 193, pages 7-13.
Crossref
Susan Steinemann, Daniel Galanis, Tiffany Nguyen & Walter Biffl. (2018) Motor vehicle crash fatalaties and undercompensated care associated with legalization of marijuana. Journal of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery 85:3, pages 566-571.
Crossref
Ole Rogeberg, Andreas Wahl Blomkvist & David Nutt. (2018) Cannabis and opioid overdoses: time to move on and examine potential mechanisms. Addiction 113:8, pages 1551-1552.
Crossref
. (2018) Appendix C: References (Part I). Journal of Nursing Regulation 9:2, pages S52-S58.
Crossref
. (2018) Part I: Current Legislation, Scientific Literature Review, and Nursing Implications. Journal of Nursing Regulation 9:2, pages S6-S21.
Crossref
Amanda Reiman. (2018) In consideration of cannabis. Drug and Alcohol Review 37:S1.
Crossref
Stephanie Lake, Thomas Kerr, Ekaterina Nosova, M-J Milloy, Evan Wood & Kora DeBeck. (2018) Patterns of Non-injection Drug Use Associated with Injection Cessation among Street-Involved Youth in Vancouver, Canada. Journal of Urban Health 95:2, pages 267-277.
Crossref
Marianne Beare Vyas, Virginia T. LeBaron & Aaron M. Gilson. (2018) The use of cannabis in response to the opioid crisis: A review of the literature. Nursing Outlook 66:1, pages 56-65.
Crossref
Philippe Lucas. (2017) Rationale for cannabis-based interventions in the opioid overdose crisis. Harm Reduction Journal 14:1.
Crossref
Jade Boyd, Danya Fast, Megan Hobbins, Ryan McNeil & Will Small. (2017) Social-structural factors influencing periods of injection cessation among marginalized youth who inject drugs in Vancouver, Canada: an ethno-epidemiological study. Harm Reduction Journal 14:1.
Crossref
Theodore L. Caputi. (2017) Whether medical marijuana is ever substituted for other substances is not the full story. Drug and Alcohol Review 36:4.
Crossref
Paris Charilaou, Kanishk Agnihotri, Pablo Garcia, Apurva Badheka, Douglas Frenia & Balaji Yegneswaran. (2017) Trends of Cannabis Use Disorder in the Inpatient: 2002 to 2011. The American Journal of Medicine 130:6, pages 678-687.e7.
Crossref
Meenakshi Sabina Subbaraman, Jane Metrik, Deidre Patterson & Robert Swift. (2017) Cannabis use during treatment for alcohol use disorders predicts alcohol treatment outcomes. Addiction 112:4, pages 685-694.
Crossref
Stephanie Lake, Thomas Kerr, Rielle Capler, Jeannie Shoveller, Julio Montaner & M.-J. Milloy. (2017) High-intensity cannabis use and HIV clinical outcomes among HIV-positive people who use illicit drugs in Vancouver, Canada. International Journal of Drug Policy 42, pages 63-70.
Crossref
Philippe Lucas & Zach Walsh. (2017) Medical cannabis access, use, and substitution for prescription opioids and other substances: A survey of authorized medical cannabis patients. International Journal of Drug Policy 42, pages 30-35.
Crossref
Zach Walsh, Raul Gonzalez, Kim Crosby, Michelle S. Thiessen, Chris Carroll & Marcel O. Bonn-Miller. (2017) Medical cannabis and mental health: A guided systematic review. Clinical Psychology Review 51, pages 15-29.
Crossref
Sybil Goulet-Stock, Sergio Rueda, Afshin Vafaei, Anca Ialomiteanu, Jakob Manthey, Jürgen Rehm & Benedikt Fischer. (2017) Comparing Medical and Recreational Cannabis Users on Socio-Demographic, Substance and Medication Use, and Health and Disability Characteristics. European Addiction Research 23:3, pages 129-135.
Crossref
Stephanie Lake & Thomas Kerr. (2016) The Challenges of Projecting the Public Health Impacts of Marijuana Legalization in Canada Comment on "Legalizing and Regulating Marijuana in Canada: Review of Potential Economic, Social, and Health Impacts". International Journal of Health Policy and Management 6:5, pages 285-287.
Crossref
Philippe Lucas, Zach Walsh, Kim Crosby, Robert Callaway, Lynne Belle-Isle, Robert Kay, Rielle Capler & Susan Holtzman. (2016) Substituting cannabis for prescription drugs, alcohol and other substances among medical cannabis patients: The impact of contextual factors. Drug and Alcohol Review 35:3, pages 326-333.
Crossref
Maritt Kirst, Kat Kolar, Michael Chaiton, Robert Schwartz, Brian Emerson, Elaine Hyshka, Rebecca Jesseman, Philippe Lucas, Robert Solomon & Gerald Thomas. (2015) A common public health-oriented policy framework for cannabis, alcohol and tobacco in Canada?. Canadian Journal of Public Health 106:8, pages e474-e476.
Crossref
Nicholas Lau, Paloma Sales, Sheigla Averill, Fiona Murphy, Sye-Ok Sato & Sheigla Murphy. (2015) A safer alternative: Cannabis substitution as harm reduction. Drug and Alcohol Review 34:6, pages 654-659.
Crossref
Teresa M. Leyro, Peter S. Hendricks & Sharon M. Hall. (2015) If at first you don't succeed: Characterization of smokers with late smoking abstinence onset. Addictive Behaviors 45, pages 34-38.
Crossref
Benedikt Fischer, Yoko Murphy, Paul Kurdyak, Elliot Goldner & Jürgen Rehm. (2015) Medical marijuana programs — Why might they matter for public health and why should we better understand their impacts?. Preventive Medicine Reports 2, pages 53-56.
Crossref
Sharon R. Sznitman & Yuval Zolotov. (2015) Cannabis for Therapeutic Purposes and public health and safety: A systematic and critical review. International Journal of Drug Policy 26:1, pages 20-29.
Crossref
Rosalie Liccardo Pacula & Eric L. Sevigny. (2014) Natural Experiments in a Complex and Dynamic Environment: The Need for a Measured Assessment of the Evidence. Journal of Policy Analysis and Management 33:1, pages 232-235.
Crossref
Collin Calvert & Darin Erickson. (2020) Recreational Cannabis Legalization and Alcohol Purchasing: An Interrupted Time Series Study. SSRN Electronic Journal.
Crossref
Bradley Bartos, Charis Kubrin, Carol Newark & Richard McCleary. (2019) Medical Marijuana Laws and Suicide. SSRN Electronic Journal.
Crossref

Reprints and Corporate Permissions

Please note: Selecting permissions does not provide access to the full text of the article, please see our help page How do I view content?

To request a reprint or corporate permissions for this article, please click on the relevant link below:

Academic Permissions

Please note: Selecting permissions does not provide access to the full text of the article, please see our help page How do I view content?

Obtain permissions instantly via Rightslink by clicking on the button below:

If you are unable to obtain permissions via Rightslink, please complete and submit this Permissions form. For more information, please visit our Permissions help page.