Contextual factors associated with marijuana use in school population

Abstract

Introduction. Marijuana use among the student population has increased in Mexico and Latin America. There are social, interpersonal and individual factors associated with the onset and continuation of marijuana use. These include the availability of drugs in the community, opportunity for use, low perceived risk of harm from marijuana use and social tolerance by family and close friends. Moreover, these factors increase the probability of experimenting with other drugs, polysubstance use and dependence. Objective. To identify the relationship between the level of urbanization, drug availability, exposure to opportunity for use, risk perception and social tolerance of the level of marijuana use among Mexican middle and high school students. Method. The results are drawn from various surveys conducted in Mexico City and the National Survey of Drug Use among Students 2014. A total of 114 364 middle and high school students participated (49.8% boys and 50.2% girls). Results. Of the respondent 10.6% had used marijuana at least once (12.9% boys and 8.4% girls). The variables that predicted higher marijuana use were drug use approval by family and best friend,, the level of urbanization and low risk perception. Discussion and conclusion. Action must be taken on the factors mentioned to decrease the availability and use of drugs in the environment, and raise awareness of their consequences. These elements must be introduced systematically and creatively into preventive programs in this area.

Changes in use and availability of cannabis among adolescents over last two decades. Situation in Poland and selected European countries

“…The subject literature indicates that psychoactive substance use is influenced by many factors at the individual level, both social and psychological. Study results show that some of these, like availability, exposure to given substances associated with possibility of their use, perception of risk or social acceptance have a greater influence on use than legislative instruments [3,5].…”

“…Od dłuższego czasu kwestia używania konopi, głównie marihuany, i ich dostępności jest przedmiotem zainteresowania różnych grup interesariuszyorganizacji pozarządowych, polityków, przedstawicieli mediów, świata naukowego [1][2][3]. Instrumenty ograniczania podaży narkotyków i popytu na nie są narzędziami pozwalającymi kształtować politykę w tym obszarze.…”

“…Wyniki badań pokazują, że niektóre z nich, np. dostępność, ekspozycja na daną substancję związana z możliwościami jej użycia, postrzegane ryzyko czy społeczna akceptacja, mają większy wpływ na ich używanie niż instrumenty legislacyjne [3,5].…”

“…Cannabis use, mainly as marijuana, and its availability, has long been the object of interest of various groups of stakeholders, including non-governmental organisations, politicians, media and the scientific community representatives [1][2][3]. Drug supply and demand reduction instruments allow the shaping of policy in this area.…”

Therapeutic applications based on cannabinoids action

“…4 In a sample of secondary and high school students in Mexico, a prevalence has been reported of marijuana use sometime of 10.6 %, 12.9 % by males and 8.4 % by females. 5 Cannabis, specifically the sativa species, is an herbaceous plant that grows spontaneously in tropical and subtropical regions and contains between 400 and 537 chemical components and nearly 100 cannabinoids. 6,7 It is difficult to pinpoint the moment any…”