ArticleThe International journal on drug policy2020
The emergence of innovative cannabis distribution projects in the downtown eastside of Vancouver, Canada.
Article in The International journal on drug policy, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 17 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
17 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 23 citations in OpenAlex.
- Cannabinoid exposure across substance use disorders: Short-term symptom benefits without sustained therapeutic gains in a tier-weighted systematic review.European psychiatry : the journal of the Association of European Psychiatrists · 2026Pooled it
- Self-reported cannabis use to manage opioid withdrawal symptoms and reductions in opioid use among people who use unregulated opioids: a cross-sectional analysis.Journal of cannabis research · 2026Article
- Conceptualizing 'cannabis harm reduction': lessons learned from cannabis compassion clubs and medical dispensaries in British Columbia (Canada).Harm reduction journal · 2025Article
- Exploring the substitution of cannabis for alcohol and other drugs among a large convenience sample of people who use cannabis.Harm reduction journal · 2024Article
- "Smoking weed it gets you over the hump": Cannabis co-use as a facilitator of decreased opioid use among people who inject drugs in Los Angeles, California.Drug and alcohol dependence reports · 2024Article
- Perspectives regarding cannabis use: Results from a qualitative study of individuals engaged in substance use treatment in Georgia and Connecticut.Drug and alcohol dependence reports · 2024Article
- Cannabis donation as a harm reduction strategy: a case study.Harm reduction journal · 2024Article
- Cannabis use to manage stimulant cravings among people who use unregulated drugs.Addictive behaviors · 2024Article
- Implications of Cannabis Legalization on Substance-Related Benefits and Harms for People Who Use Opioids: A Canadian Perspective.Cannabis and cannabinoid research · 2023Article
- "The Box Has Become an Indispensable Part of My Life": A Case Study of Victoria Cannabis Buyers Club and its Consumption Space.Contemporary drug problems · 2023Article
- Cannabis use to manage opioid cravings among people who use unregulated opioids during a drug toxicity crisis.The International journal on drug policy · 2023Article
- Cannabidiol as a Harm Reduction Strategy for People Who Use Drugs: A Rapid Review.Canadian journal of psychiatry. Revue canadienne de psychiatrie · 2023Review
- The role of cannabis in pain management among people living with HIV who use drugs: A qualitative study.Drug and alcohol review · 2021Article
- The impact of non-medical cannabis legalization and other exposures on retention in longitudinal cannabis research: a survival analysis of a prospective study of Canadian medical cannabis patients.Journal of cannabis research · 2021Article
- "If I knew I could get that every hour instead of alcohol, I would take the cannabis": need and feasibility of cannabis substitution implementation in Canadian managed alcohol programs.Harm reduction journal · 2021Article
- "It's Helped Me a Lot, Just Like to Stay Alive": a Qualitative Analysis of Outcomes of a Novel Hydromorphone Tablet Distribution Program in Vancouver, Canada.Journal of urban health : bulletin of the New York Academy of Medicine · 2021Article
- Factors associated with health-related cannabis use intentions among a community sample of people who inject drugs in Los Angeles and San Francisco, CA 2016 to 2018.Drug and alcohol dependence · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
8 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
The ongoing overdose crisis in the United States and Canada has highlighted the urgent need for innovative interventions to reduce drug-related harms. This, in turn, has led to increased interest in the potential of cannabis as a harm reduction strategy. While Canada has recently legalized cannabis, meaningful barriers to accessing legal cannabis remain for people who use drugs (PWUD) from marginalized communities. In the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver, Canada, innovative, grassroots cannabis distribution programs that dispense cannabis and cannabis products from unregulated sources to PWUD for free have recently emerged. In this study, we draw upon 23 in-depth qualitative interviews and ethnographic fieldwork with PWUD who access these programs. We found that these distribution programs play an important function in bridging access to cannabis for PWUD in a structurally disadvantaged neighborhood and do so by implementing few restrictions on who can access, providing a variety of cannabis products that would otherwise be inaccessible, and distributing cannabis at no cost. In addition, many people reported the program spaces provided an avenue to socialize and connect. Most of our participants reported that legal cannabis was inaccessible both through the legal medical and non-medical systems. Considering Canadian governments have made important regulatory changes in regards to cannabis, understanding emerging patterns and the structural barriers to accessing legal cannabis will be critical to maximizing the potential uses of cannabis as a harm reduction tool and ensuring equitable access to structurally disadvantaged populations. Examining the impact of cannabis use on PWUD and ensuring these groups have access to cannabis is an important component in determining whether cannabis deregulation reduces drug-related harms.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.