Lived Experience of Heavy Drinkers Guided Development of Cannabis Substitution Resources for Alcohol Programs

The collaboration between researchers, clinicians, and organizations of people with lived experience produced tailored client-facing and provider-facing cannabis education resources. Standard cannabis unit equivalencies were created to support program delivery. The lived expertise of heavy drinkers proved essential for creating materials that were accurate, relevant, and accessible to the target population.

Community-based participatory research drawing on 10+ years of collaboration between the Canadian Managed Alcohol Program Study (CMAPS) and organizations of people with lived experience (EIDGE and SOLID Victoria). Focus groups and meetings engaged peers in creating educational resources.

Cannabis substitution is emerging as a harm reduction strategy for severe alcohol use. This study shows that effective resources require input from the people who will use them, and that heavy drinkers have valuable informal knowledge about harm reduction that can be formalized.

As cannabis legalization expands, its potential role in reducing alcohol harm becomes more practically feasible. Managed alcohol programs serving people with severe alcohol use disorder represent one setting where substitution might reduce the catastrophic health effects of extreme drinking.

No outcomes data on whether cannabis substitution actually reduces alcohol-related harm. Resources developed for specific Canadian context. Cannabis substitution may not be appropriate for all alcohol-dependent individuals. Long-term effects of switching from alcohol to cannabis unknown.