Maria Inês Gandolfo Conceição, Maria Fernanda Reyes Rodriguez, Patricia Cid Henriquez, Narsha Modeste, Jason Wynter, Gaile Gray-Phillip, Guarionex Gomez Tavarez, Danladi Chiroma Husaini, Maria Gabriela Morgado Tapia, Karina Rivera Fierro, Hayley Hamilton, Akwatu Khenti, Marya Hynes, Carla Arena Ventura, Bruna Brands
Perception Of Harm And Benefits Of Cannabis Use Among Adolescents From Latin America And Caribe
Abstract
Objective:
To investigate the perception of harms and benefits associated with cannabis use among adolescents and how regulatory changes might affect their intention to use marijuana.
Method:
This multi-centric cross-sectional survey study. participants included 2717 students aged 15–17 from 10 cities in Belize, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Mexico, St. Kitts and Nevis, and Trinidad and Tobago.
Results:
An average lifetime prevalence of cannabis use of 30.6% (25.8% past year, 15.8% past 30 days). Most participants reported that their closest friends use cannabis (60%); many (55%) stated that they would not use marijuana, even if it were legally available.
Conclusion:
Statistics revealed that a strong perception of benefits, a low perception of risk, and friends’ use of cannabis were associated with individual use as well as intention to use within a hypothetical context of regulatory change.
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