Open Collections

Daniels, Sarah Elizabeth Ann

University of British Columbia

The prevalence of cannabis use in Canada is high, and there is increasing discussion around the therapeutic use of cannabis to enhance well-being and address mental health concerns. Clinical research and anecdotal reports are equivocal and inconsistent, with both positive and negative impacts on mental health reported. In studies of other psychoactive drugs used therapeutically (i.e., psychedelics) there is considerable attendance to extra-pharmacological factors during the drug experience, as it is well-known that such contextual factors can significantly impact clinical outcomes. In this study, 47 participants self-administered cannabis via the Naturalistic Cannabis Administration Protocol (NCAP) under two conditions that took place one week apart. After consuming cannabis, participants completed a 45-minute yoga practice, and in the control condition participated in activities as usual for 45 minutes (e.g., what they would normally do when high). Within-subjects assessment of well-being outcomes indicated significant improvements in mysticality of experience (F(1,46) = 19.82, p <.001, ηₚ = .30) and state mindfulness (F(1,46) = 34.08, p <.001, ηₚ= .43) following the yoga condition, and no difference in state affect. Results demonstrated that contextual factors can impact well-being outcomes following cannabis administration. These findings suggest that paying attention to contextual factors and providing guidelines for therapeutic cannabis users may improve clinical outcomes when using cannabis to support mental health and well-being.

Text

2023-09-05

Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International

http://hdl.handle.net/2429/85796

Psychology

University of British Columbia

UBCO

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/