Lighting a joint remains the most common way to consume, new study finds
Maybe we just like smoke rings? Unsurprisingly, cannabis users are more likely to choose to ingest their cannabinoids by lighting a joint rather than through other routes of administration, according to data published in the journal Addiction. Roll a joint remains the most popular mode of ingestion in 2020.
Results of a survey on the methods of administration of cannabis
Cette survey, conducted in the USA, provides the most recent and representative description of cannabis administration methods, a particularly good representation between men, women, the elderly and minorities, who are often under-represented in studies previous ones using online panels.
A researcher from the University of California at San Diego assessed marijuana use patterns among a nationally representative sample of participants. Consistent with previous studies, he indicated that the most frequently reported method of ingestion was rolled cigarettes. (64%).
Eleven administration methods have been grouped into combustion, vaporization, ingestion and topical. Weighted prevalence was reported among medical-only, recreational-only, and dual-use users, based on self-reported goals and users in states that have legalized recreational and medical cannabis, which have legalized cannabis for medical use only and have not legalized cannabis.
Smoking methods differ between patients and stoners
People who reported using cannabis for personal and non-medical purposes are more likely to recognize the joint with tobacco as their primary method of use. Adult consumers are also more likely to report having also vaporized cannabis.
In contrast, medical marijuana users were much more likely to acknowledge having used topicals on cannabis than other adult users. More than half of those surveyed who reported having consumed cannabis for personal and medical purposes admitted to using “the combustion method almost every day”.
A higher proportion of dual-use users (82,82%) used more than one method than medical-only users (40,52%) and recreational-only users (63,91%). For both medical and recreational uses, states that have legalized have the lowest burn rates and the highest ingestion and topical rates among the major methods. The rate of use of more than one method of administration did not vary from state to state.
