Table 4 Characteristics of included studies
From: The COVID-19 pandemic and cannabis use in Canada―a scoping review
Author(s) and date | Study design | Location of study | Population sample | Timeframe | Objective(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
(Bartel et al. 2020) | Longitudinal study―online survey | Canada | 70 individuals between 19 and 25 years of age | March 23 and June 15, 2020 | Investigate the relationship between self-isolation due to COVID-19, using cannabis to cope with depression and cannabis consumption |
(Canadian 2020) | Cross-sectional survey | Canada | A total of n = 2502 (T1) and n = 1507 (T2) online surveys were conducted, age 16 years and older | Time 1 (T1): October 13 to November 2, 2020 Time 2 (T2): November 19 to December 2, 2020 | Monitor the ongoing impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health and substance use |
(Canadian 2021) | Ecological study | Canada | Canadian residents age 10 and older | March to September 2020 | Examine harm caused by substance use during the pandemic, analyzing emergency department visits and inpatient hospitalizations |
(Currie 2021) | Cross-sectional | Alberta, Canada | 933 community-based adults without a previous diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) | June 2020 | Examine associations between pandemic-related PTSD symptoms and substance use among adults |
(Dozois 2021) | Cross-sectional, MHRC’s national survey | Canada | 1803 randomly selected adults (ages 18+) | April 22–28, 2020 | Assess the relationship of the COVID-19 pandemic and levels of anxiety and depression. |
(Dumas et al. 2020) | Retrospective cross-sectional online survey | Canada | 1054 Canadian adolescents (aged 14–18) | April 4 - April 13, 2020 | Assess how adolescent substance use has changed since the COVID-19 pandemic, in addition to key contexts and correlates of substance use during social distancing |
(Enns et al. 2020) | Conceptual model | Canada | N/A | March and May 2020 | Present a conceptual model of the possible effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on substance use and related harms |
(Farhoudian et al. 2020) | Cross-sectional survey | Global (including Canada) | 185 responses from 77 countries | April 5–May 10, 2020 | Assess addiction medicine professionals’ perceived changes in drug and alcohol supply, price, use pattern and related complications during the COVID-19 pandemic |
(Imtiaz et al. 2021) | Repeated cross-sectional | Canada | 3012 adults in Canada | May 8–June 23, 2020 | Characterize trends in cannabis use in the overall population and (2) characterize patterns of and identify risk characteristics associated with an increase in cannabis use among those who used cannabis |
(Joyce et al. 2020) | Cross-sectional | Canada | 508 mothers with children 0–8 years old | April 14–28, 2020 | Examine substance use among mothers during the COVID-19 pandemic |
(Leatherdale et al. 2021) | Prospective cohort | Quebec and Ontario, Canada | 7496 students (grades 9 to 12 in Ontario and Secondary I–V in Quebec) participated in the 2020 online data collection in the 43 schools | May to July 2020 | Examine the effect of the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic period on youth cannabis use in the context of a natural experiment |
(Myran 2020) | Cross-sectional time-series analysis of longitudinal sales data | Canada | Monthly per capita alcohol and cannabis retail sales for individuals ages 15 + in Canada | March–May 2020 | Examine changes in per capita alcohol, cannabis, and other essential retail sales across Canada during the early phase of COVID-19 and associations between these changes and different jurisdictional approaches to drug control |
(Prowse et al. 2021) | Cross-sectional survey | Ontario, Canada | 366 undergraduate students from Carleton University | May–August 2020 | Examine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on academics, social isolation, and mental health, as well as the extent to a variety of coping strategies have been implemented by study participants |
(Rotterman 2020) | Survey by Statistics Canada CPSS Series 1; CCHS; NCS | Canada | CPSS : > 4600 people, aged 15 or older in the 10 provinces; CCHS: ~65,000 respondents aged 12 and older in 10 provinces and 3 territories (only those aged 15 and older and living in the 10 provinces were included); NCS: unknown | CPSS―March 23-April 3 2020; CCHS―2018; NCS―2019 fourth quarter | To report on how Canadians are coping with the COVID-19 pandemic and to estimate the rate of cannabis consumption in the past 3 months by self-perceived mental health |
(Rotterman 2021) | Cross-sectional NCS | Canada | Canadians aged 15 and older in the 10 provinces. Provincial samples contained an average of 5540 respondents | The first quarter of 2018 and 2019 NCS, the fourth quarter of 2020 | The primary objective of this study was to update the information to reflect changes in self-reported cannabis consumption and related behaviors, as well as examine how methods of consumption and products have been changing between 2018 and 2020 |
(Statistics 2021) | Cross-sectional: CPSS 6 | Canadians living in the ten provinces | 16,467 respondents aged 15 and older | January 25 to 31, 2021 | To understand the possible impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the use of substances, including alcohol, cannabis, opioids, and non-prescription substances |
(Turna 2021) | Cross-sectional survey | Canada, the USA, Brazil, and Italy | 1315 individuals | April 08–June 26, 2020 | Compare the mental health burden on healthcare practitioners in different countries during the pandemic |
(Turna et al. 2021) | Cross-sectional survey | Canada and the USA | 632 individuals | April 8–June 11, 2020 | Examine relevant risk factors for pandemic-related mental health issues |
(Turner 2019) | Cross-sectional survey | Canada | 809 adolescents, aged 12–18 years | June 17–July 31, 2020. | Explore the demographic and geographic distributions of suicidal ideation and deliberate self-harm and the associations of mental health and substance use with suicidal ideation and deliberate self-harm |
(Vedelago et al. 2022) | Cross-sectional survey | Canada | 137 Adults | April 30–May 4, 2020 | Investigate internal cannabis use motives as a potential mediating factor between cannabis demand pre-declaration of COVID-19 emergency measures and cannabis use patterns and problems after the implementation of COVID-19 emergency measures |
(Zajacova et al. 2020) | Cross-sectional survey | Canada | 4383 adults age 25 and older | March 29 and April 3, 2020 | Assess changes in health behaviors during the early stages of the pandemic and examine socio-demographic disparities associated with these changes |