Cannabis use in daily life and its relation to well-being and mood

Aims

Traditional cannabis research often relies on single, self-reported questionnaires, which do not fully capture the complexities of cannabis use in everyday life. It is essential to employ more refined research methods to overcome these limitations.

In my PhD project, I utilize an innovative approach to study cannabis smoking in daily life in Denmark. The primary goal is to explore how cannabis use relates to well-being, mood, and personality traits.

Background

Data from the European Union Drugs Agency (EUDA)* showed that cannabis is the most commonly used illicit drugs in Europe. The epidemiological studies recently estimated that 3.7 million of the European population uses cannabis daily. In Denmark, EUDA estimated 3.2% used cannabis in the last month in Denmark. These data pointed towards an ascendent number of users. Considering this, and the changes in cannabis legislation and markets in many countries, it is important to the quality of available information for users, policymakers, healthcare professionals, and other stakeholders.

*The European Union Drugs Agency, known until 2024 as the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction, is an agency of the European Union headquartered in Lisbon, Portugal, and established in 1993.

The study

This project is a longitudinal observational study focused on individuals in Denmark who smoke cannabis daily.

This research involves self-reported and repeated surveys to gain more detailed insights into the individual's experiences in their everyday life. First, the participants fill out a self-reported questionnaire with information such as participants' educational and work backgrounds, marital status, consumption of cannabis, alcohol, and nicotine, mental health history, well-being, and general personality traits. Afterwards, they respond to brief daily surveys several times daily for over 21 days, where they are asked about mood and cannabis use.

Participation in this study will contribute to advancing scientific knowledge, helping to ensure that different users, policymakers, healthcare professionals, and others have access to the most accurate and comprehensive information about cannabis in daily life.

The project will run from February 2023 to January 2026.

For more information about the research, please visit the Danish webpage regarding recruitment of participtants or on youtube.

Funding

The PhD project is funded by the BSS Graduate School, Aarhus University.