Changes observed in Canada in the use of cannabis for medical purposes during the COVID-19 pandemic

Introduction. The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in widespread negative health effects, including loss of material security and exacerbation of mental illness in at-risk populations. Although an increase in the non-medical use of certain substances, including cannabis, has been observed in samples of the Canadian population, no studies have examined changes in the use of cannabis for medical purposes in Canada during the COVID pandemic. Methodology. Data were drawn from the 2021 Canadian Cannabis Survey, an online survey conducted in May 2021 among people authorized to use cannabis for medical purposes and who were recruited through one of the two licensed medical cannabis producers in Canada. We used McNemar tests to compare the frequency of medical cannabis use in the three months prior to the pandemic with the frequency of medical cannabis use during the pandemic. We explored the correlates of an increase in the frequency of cannabis use since the start of the pandemic in bivariate and multivariate logistic models. Results. A total of 2,697 respondents (49.1% women) completed the survey. Daily use of cannabis for medical purposes increased slightly, but statistically significantly, between the prepandemic period (83.2%) and the pandemic period (90.3% at the time of the survey; p < 0.001). Factors statistically significantly associated with increased frequency of cannabis use for medical purposes included female gender, younger age, pandemic-related job loss, cannabis use primarily for mental health management, prescription drug use and cannabis use for non-medical purposes (p < 0.05). Conclusion. Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a slightly upward trend in the frequency of medical cannabis use. As the short- and long-term effects of cannabis use on pandemic-related mental distress are unknown, clinicians with patients using cannabis for medical purposes should be on the lookout for changes in use patterns during the pandemic.