How older Canadians access medical cannabis and information about it: A descriptive survey

Figures & data

Table 1. Summary of participants’ characteristics, presented as median (Q₁, Q₃) or count (%).

Variable		Count (%)
Age (median, Q1, Q3)		67.0 (64.0, 71.0)
Gender	Female	42 (39.3%)
	Male	59 (55.1%)
	Prefer not to disclose	6 (5.6%)
Region	British Columbia	19 (17.8%)
	Prairie provinces	34 (31.8%)
	Ontario	31 (29.0%)
	Quebec	11 (10.3%)
	Atlantic provinces	12 (11.2%)
Location	City (population < 1 million)	47 (43.9%)
	City (population > 1 million)	25 (23.4%)
	Rural (farm or acreage)	3 (2.8%)
	Town or village	32 (29.9%)

Table 2. Summary of responses to individual survey items.

Question	Response count (%)
General experience with cannabis
	Negative	Mostly negative	Neither positive nor negative	Somewhat positive	Positive
What was the experience like?	1 (1.0%)	8 (7.7%)	14 (13.5%)	29 (27.9%)	52 (50.0%)
	Not at all	Somewhat		Mostly	Perfectly
How well has cannabis served the purpose you were using it for?	4 (4.0%)	21 (20.8%)		53 (52.5%)	23 (22.8%)
Cannabis use and judgement
	Never	Not usually	Sometimes	Most of the time	Always
Have you used cannabis throughout your life?	9 (8.4%)	26 (24.3%)	43 (40.2%)	24 (22.4%)	5 (4.7%)
Have you ever felt like you had to hide your use of cannabis?	21 (20.0%)	21 (20.0%)	39 (37.1%)	16 (15.2%)	8 (7.6%)
	No		Sometimes		Yes
Have you ever felt judged for your desire to use cannabis, or actual cannabis use?	41 (38.3%)		22 (20.6%)		44 (41.1%)
	Not at all	Not usually	Sometimes	Quite a bit	All the time
Do feelings of being judged impact your decision to use cannabis?	51 (51.5%)	20 (20.2%)	20 (20.2%)	7 (7.1%)	1 (1.0%)
Do feelings of being judged impact your decision to seek information about cannabis?	48 (48.5%)	22 (22.2%)	16 (16.2%)	13 (13.1%)	0 (0.0%)

Table 3. Summary of responses to ‘how well were your questions answered?’, stratified by response to ‘what types of people or sources did you seek information from (multiple response)?’.

Source	Marginal count (%)	Response count (%)
		Not at all	Somewhat	Mostly	Answered all my questions
Healthcare professional	53 (49.5%)	1 (1.9%)	5 (9.4%)	26 (49.1%)	21 (39.6%)
Cannabis retail store	43 (40.2%)	0 (0.0%)	9 (20.9%)	21 (48.8%)	13 (30.2%)
The internet	35 (32.7%)	0 (0.0%)	10 (28.6%)	19 (54.3%)	6 (17.1%)
Friend	33 (30.8%)	0 (0.0%)	12 (36.4%)	15 (45.5%)	6 (18.2%)
Family member	22 (20.1%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (18.2%)	5 (22.7%)	13 (59.1%)
Cannabis growers	20 (18.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	11 (55.0%)	9 (45.0%)

Table 4. Summary of responses to ‘how comfortable were you accessing cannabis in this way?’, stratified by response to ‘where did you access cannabis?’.

Source	Marginal count (%)	Response count (%)
		Very uncomfortable	Some anxiety	Neutral	Somewhat comfortable	Very comfortable
Cannabis retail store	60 (56.1%)	8 (13.3%)	4 (6.7%)	8 (13.3%)	22 (36.7%)	18 (30.0%)
Cannabis grower	27 (25.2%)	2 (7.4%)	1 (3.7%)	2 (7.4%)	14 (51.9%)	8 (29.6%)
Medical dispensary	26 (24.3%)	2 (7.7%)	8 (30.8%)	2 (7.7%)	7 (26.9%)	7 (26.9%)
Friend	9 (8.4%)	1 (11.1%)	1 (11.1%)	3 (33.3%)	1 (11.1%)	3 (33.3%)
Family member	1 (0.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (100.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)

Table 5. Summary of categories identified in a conventional content analysis of open responses.

Category	Response count (%)
How do you deal with situations where you feel judged? (n=62)
Justify/explain that consumption is a medicinal and legitimate treatment for a health condition	26 (41.9%)
Ignore/dismiss the judgement of others	15 (24.1%)
Keep cannabis use hidden or avoid judgemental people	9 (14.5%)
React emotionally (e.g. anger, sadness)	5 (8.0%)
Concede or change consumption habits	4 (6.4%)
Have never been judged	2 (3.2%)
Other (Don’t know what to do, don’t know right or wrong)	1 (1.6%)
Have you encountered any barriers accessing cannabis? If so, please describe them (n=64)
Cost	14 (21.8%)
Judgement or disapproval from others	8 (12.5%)
HCP refusal to authorize/support access	7 (10.9%)
No or limited ways to access cannabis	6 (9.3%)
Denied access due to ageism	1 (1.5%)
What types of information were you looking for? (n=75)
Information about cannabis use and benefits for health-related issues	32 (42.6%)
Information about cannabis products, safety, dosing, and cost	20 (26.6%)
Information about side effects or harms of cannabis	13 (17.3%)
Information about service and support	6 (8.0%)
Other (attitude towards marijuana, information about the legality of marijuana, information about quitting marijuana, relationship between physical condition and marijuana)	4 (5.3%)