Mental Health and Cannabis Research
Closing Research Gaps on Cannabis and Mental Health
In 2018, the federal government allocated $10 million over five years to help us assess the impact of the legalization and use of cannabis on mental health. Forty community-based and academic projects were funded to narrow research gaps and strengthen the evidence base. Explore the projects below by priority population and learn about the challenges they experienced, the research gaps remaining, and the creative knowledge translation strategies they used.
Our videos offer more information about the ways community-based research engages and benefits communities. You can also learn about our grant funding experiences in Centering equity and lived experience: Implementing a community-based research grant on cannabis and mental health.
Several researchers shared their early findings in a webinar series, and all teams subsequently gathered for the Cannabis, Mental Health and Substance Use Health Research Knowledge Exchange Event. Both were hosted in partnership with the Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction (CCSA).
Many projects were funded in partnership with CCSA, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Veterans Affairs Canada, the Schizophrenia Society of Canada Foundation, and the Canadian Consortium for Early Intervention in Psychosis. This included funded through CCSA’s Closing the Gaps funding opportunity.
Each stage of this work has been guided and informed by an executive advisory committee. We owe tremendous gratitude to the guidance and support provided by diverse health-care professionals, policy makers, academics, and people with lived and living experience.
- Cannapix: Picturing the experiences and perspectives of cannabis use by LGBTQ+ youth living with mental illness in Quebec.
This queer youth-led project centred the voices and agency of LGBTQ+ young people, while having them use photos to express themselves and take control over their stories. - Exploring cannabis use and mental health in sexually and gender-diverse youth: A qualitative, community-based study.
This project explored the relationship between cannabis use and mental health among sexually and gender-diverse youth to better understand what factors impact this relationship and how to better serve the mental health and substance use health needs of queer and trans (QT) youth.
- A joint production: Using participatory video for stigma reduction and public education.
People who experience mental health concerns and use cannabis (often to manage mental health symptoms) can face a “double stigma.” RADAR Mental Health addressed this double stigma through an innovative citizen journalism and participatory video PV approach. - A proof-of-concept, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial evaluating the efficacy and safety of cannabis-infused MCT oil for treatment of insomnia in major depression.
This pilot clinical trial investigated whether medicinal cannabis can improve insomnia in individuals with a history of depression. - A systematic review of randomized clinical trials that assess the efficacy of cannabidiol as a medical treatment.
A systematic review of randomized controlled trials was conducted to identify, select, and synthesize literature on CBD as a treatment for disease and injury. - Big cannabis-health-care relationships: Understanding the commercial determinants of mental health.
This study investigated the influence Canadian cannabis companies (i.e., Big Cannabis) have had in cannabis research and the perceived impact it has had on cannabis-related decision making and the mental health of individuals and communities. - Cannabidiol as a potential therapeutic target for mild traumatic brain injury recovery in female rats.
This research examined the therapeutic potential of cannabidiol (CBD) as a treatment for concussion symptoms. - Cannabis use and priority populations: Exploring the relationship between cannabis use, mental health, and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).
This research project used community-based research practices to examine the intersections between cannabis, mental health, and service use in diverse populations living with HIV. - Innovative virtual reality-based psychotherapy for the treatment of cannabis use disorder in patients with psychotic disorders.
A new virtual reality (VR) therapy was developed and piloted by 32 participants living with a concurrent diagnosis of cannabis use disorder (CUD) and a psychotic disorder. - Supporting mothers who consume cannabis in ways that work.
To better understand the experiences of caregivers and the existing knowledge and understanding of primary care providers and social workers, this study examined current research on cannabis consumption during pregnancy and parenting and engaged with stakeholders and people with lived experience. - The impact of cannabis legalization and availability on incidence, prevalence, and health services utilization for psychotic disorders: Population-based evidence to inform policy initiatives.
With a current lack of evidence on the impacts of cannabis legalization in Canada on psychotic disorders, this study aimed to narrow the gaps in the literature. - Understanding cannabis use and perceptions in patients with substance use disorders and concurrent disorders.
This study explored how people living with a mood or anxiety disorder and a concurrent substance use disorder (SUD) use cannabis, including their motivations for doing so, their knowledge about cannabis, and their perceptions of its impact (positive or negative) on their mental health symptoms. - Understanding the link between cannabis use and mental health: A focus on the experiences of older adults.
This study examined the intersection between cannabis use and mental health among older adults and identified implications for future public health research, policy, and practice.
- See our summary of all key findings related to First Nations, Inuit, and Métis populations.
- Addressing the stigma of cannabis use among parents and caregivers in First Nations communities through community engagement and policy review.
This project gathered information around parents and caregivers who use cannabis and the impact their consumption may have on cannabis dependence in the First Nations population. - Cannabis and Indigenous mental health: Lifting the pipes, understanding natural laws in the context of ‘medicine,’ mental health, and cannabis.
Using Indigenous research methodology guided by Elders, this research sought to better understand what traditional knowledge and natural laws exist around cannabis, and its relationship to mental health in Indigenous communities. - Establishing research priorities: An exploration of First Nations, Inuit, and Métis Women, Two-Spirit, Transgender, and Gender Diverse People’s needs in cannabis and mental health.
In response to critical knowledge gaps and a lack of Indigenous-led research, the Native Women’s Association of Canada (NWAC) has explored the voices, experiences, and expertise of Indigenous peoples and their relationship to mental health and cannabis. - Examining the relationship between cannabis and mental wellness in First Nations.
This mixed methods study analyzed survey and interview data to better understand the relationship between cannabis use and mental and holistic wellness factors in First Nations. - Métis perspectives of cannabis use: A community-based research study.
This study used a community-based research approach to explore Métis perspectives from across British Columbia on cannabis and its effects on physical and mental health. - Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte, Tyendinaga: Community-based research projects in cannabis and mental health.
As the community with the most cannabis dispensaries per capita in the country, this Mohawk-led research explored the impacts of the cannabis industry and the experiences and perspectives of the people living in Tyendinaga. - Unpacking cannabis and mental health among Red River Métis in Manitoba.
This study sought to provide culturally relevant insight into the relationship between cannabis use and mental health among citizens of the Manitoba Métis Federation (MMF).
- See our summary of all key findings related to immigrant, refugee, ethnocultural, and racialized populations.
- Hash It Out: Community-based research on IRER youth cannabis and mental health.
This project sought to understand the relationship between cannabis and mental health from the perspective of youth aged 18 to 30 from immigrant, refugee, ethnocultural, and racialized (IRER) communities in Ottawa, Ontario. - Raising awareness of the impact of cannabis on psychosis among young people with a first episode of psychosis from Black racialized communities.
This project explored the use of digital storytelling through video game technology to raise awareness of the relationship between cannabis and psychosis. - Understanding the experiences and complex needs of people who use cannabis and live with mental health issues.
This project explored perspectives on mental health and cannabis consumption among ethno-racialized individuals who live with mental illness.
- Impacts of cannabis on drug treatment court programs in Ontario.
This study aimed to better understand the perspectives of both drug treatment court clients and service providers on the use and effects of cannabis on program completion and mental health to better meet client needs. - Ottawa cannabis and mental health project in marginalized populations.
This project aimed to better understand the experiences of marginalized groups in Ottawa, specifically those who identify as racialized, Indigenous, street-involved, homeless or precariously housed, and/or living in poverty. - The impact of cannabis legalization on the forensic mental health patient population in Ontario (ongoing).
The aim of this study is to investigate the health-related impacts of cannabis legalization on people within the forensic mental health system in Ontario. The study will also examine the impact of legalization on forensic clinicians’ and decision makers’ attitudes with respect to cannabis use among forensic patients. - The impacts of cannabis use on the mental health of at-risk communities.
This peer-led research project sought to fill gaps in research on cannabis and mental health by exploring factors that influence cannabis use and examining its potential as a harm reduction tool to address unmet needs among people experiencing at-risk conditions.
- Impacts of cannabis on drug treatment court programs in Ontario.
This study aimed to better understand the perspectives of both drug treatment court clients and service providers on the use and effects of cannabis on program completion and mental health to better meet client needs. - Ottawa cannabis and mental health project in marginalized populations.
This project aimed to better understand the experiences of marginalized groups in Ottawa, specifically those who identify as racialized, Indigenous, street-involved, homeless or precariously housed, and/or living in poverty. - The impact of cannabis legalization on the forensic mental health patient population in Ontario (ongoing).
The aim of this study is to investigate the health-related impacts of cannabis legalization on people within the forensic mental health system in Ontario. The study will also examine the impact of legalization on forensic clinicians’ and decision makers’ attitudes with respect to cannabis use among forensic patients. - The impacts of cannabis use on the mental health of at-risk communities.
This peer-led research project sought to fill gaps in research on cannabis and mental health by exploring factors that influence cannabis use and examining its potential as a harm reduction tool to address unmet needs among people experiencing at-risk conditions.
- See our summary of all key findings related to youth.
- Adolescent cannabis exposure, brain development and cognitive-emotional behavioural outcomes: Influence of life stress (ongoing).
The aim of this study is to test the impact of cannabis on adolescent brain development, as well as to examine how early-life adversity or social stress during adolescence influences the impacts of cannabis on brain development and behavioural outcomes. These studies will help establish whether there are clear harms associated with cannabis use during adolescence in the development of mental illness. - Canadian cannabis and psychosis research team (ongoing).
This interdisciplinary research project joins experts in the fields of genetics with preclinical and clinical research to investigate the impacts of cannabis on adolescent neurodevelopment, with a focus on psychosis. - GREENHOUSE: buildinG ResiliEncE iN youtH thrOUgh cannabiS lEarning.
The GREENHOUSE project engaged a diverse group of young people to explore the links between cannabis use and mental health using self-directed learning journeys. - Ottawa cannabis and mental health project in marginalized populations (OCM): Examining the experiences of youth using photovoice.
This project explored cannabis use among youth who are street-involved, racialized, and/or low-income. It used photo-driven storytelling in a supportive environment as a platform for community members with lived experience to share their experiences with cannabis use and mental health. - Pharmacotherapeutic effects of cannabidiol in autism spectrum disorder (ongoing).
This study will investigate the potential therapeutic effects of CBD for treating symptoms associated with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), which will lead to greater understanding of the effects of cannabinoids on ASD and support the implementation of clinical strategies to alleviate symptoms associated with it. - Youth-led development of lower-risk cannabis use guidelines for individuals aged 13 to 18: A pathway to better mental health and wellness.
This project engaged youth from the Foundry Victoria Youth Clinic and a youth working group to develop lower-risk cannabis use guidelines to better support youth aged 13 to 18.