PERCEPTION OF HARM AND BENEFITS OF CANNABIS USE AMONG ADOLESCENTS FROM LATIN AMERICA AND CARIBE

• Autor(a) principal: Conceição,Maria Inês Gandolfo
• Data de Publicação: 2019
• Outros Autores: Rodriguez,Maria Fernanda Reyes, Henriquez,Patricia Cid, Modeste,Narsha, Wynter,Jason, Gray-Phillip,Gaile, Tavarez,Guarionex Gomez, Husaini,Danladi Chiroma, Tapia,Maria Gabriela Morgado, Fierro,Karina Rivera, Hamilton,Hayley, Khenti,Akwatu, Hynes,Marya, Ventura,Carla Arena, Brands,Bruna
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Texto & contexto enfermagem (Online)
• Texto Completo: http://old.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0104-07072019000600312
• topic: Adolescent behavior; Cannabis; Risk factors; Government Regulation

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.