Objectives. To estimate changes in medical cannabis patient activity after Canada's recreational cannabis legalization. Methods. I used linear regressions of interrupted times series models to analyze medical cannabis patient registrations per 10 000 residents, purchases per 100 registrations, and packages per purchase in Canada's 10 provinces between April 2017 and December 2022. I tested relationships between the recreational law's passage in June 2018, recreational sales starting in October 2018, and the arrival of edibles and vapes in December 2019. Results. Medical patient registrations initially increased; they slowed after the law passed and started decreasing after edibles became available. Medical purchasing frequencies initially decreased; they decreased further in proportion to recreational sales but stabilized after edibles became available. Medical purchase sizes were initially stable; they began increasing after edibles became available. Conclusions. Canada saw substantial decreases in medical cannabis patient registrations, but the remaining patients stabilized their purchasing frequencies and increased their purchase sizes. Public Health Implications. Other countries might see significant changes in patient usage of their medical cannabis systems after nationwide recreational cannabis legalization. (Am J Public Health. 2024;114(S8):S673-S680. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2024.307721).

中文翻译：

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2017-2022 年加拿大娱乐性大麻合法化和医用大麻患者活动。


目标。估计加拿大娱乐性大麻合法化后医用大麻患者活动的变化。方法。我使用中断时间序列模型的线性回归来分析2017年4月至2022年12月期间加拿大10个省份每10000名居民的医用大麻患者注册量、每100名注册的购买量以及每次购买的包装数。我测试了 2018 年 6 月通过娱乐法、2018 年 10 月开始的娱乐销售以及 2019 年 12 月食品和电子烟到来之间的关系。结果。医疗患者登记最初增加;它们在法律通过后放缓，并在食品上市后开始减少。医疗购买频率最初下降;它们与娱乐销售成比例进一步下降，但在食品上市后趋于稳定。医疗购买规模最初是稳定的;在食品上市后，它们开始增加。结论。加拿大的医用大麻患者注册人数大幅下降，但其余患者稳定了他们的购买频率并增加了他们的购买规模。公共卫生影响。在全国娱乐性大麻合法化后，其他国家的患者对其医用大麻系统的使用可能会发生重大变化。（美国公共卫生杂志，2024 年;114（S8）：S673-S680。https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2024.307721）。