Cannabis use serves as a meaningful occupation for users — supporting daily routines, identity, belonging, and worldview expansion — challenging purely negative health frameworks.
Occupational therapists, harm reduction practitioners, and substance abuse counselors.
4 themes of meaningidentified across 14 studies: preserving life, navigating routines, identity/belonging, and expanding worldview
What the researchers found
Four themes of cannabis meaning emerged: preserving life, navigating everyday routines, understanding self/identity/belonging, and expanding worldview, suggesting cannabis use holds deep significance beyond recreation or pathology.
Why it matters
Recognizing the meaningful role cannabis plays in people lives could improve substance abuse treatment by acknowledging what would need to be replaced, not just eliminated.
The numbers in context
14 studies selected from 7 databases. Most published since 2008, with 5 in the last 2 years. Four cross-study themes identified through reflexive thematic analysis.
How the study worked
Scoping review following Levac et al. modifications to Arksey and O Malley framework. Seven databases searched with reflexive thematic analysis across selected studies.
Who was studied
Cannabis users as studied across 14 peer-reviewed studies (community samples).
What this study cannot tell us
Scoping review methodology provides breadth but limited depth. Only 14 studies met criteria, indicating limited research in this area. Occupational perspective may not apply universally.
How to read the evidence
Scoping review of qualitative and mixed-methods literature; provides thematic insights rather than quantitative evidence.
When this study was published
Most studies published since 2008, reflecting growing interest in this perspective.
The bigger picture
This occupational science perspective challenges the assumption that drug use is inherently meaningless or purely harmful, suggesting that harm reduction approaches should acknowledge the functions cannabis serves in people lives.
Replication
Limited research base (14 studies); growing field that needs more primary research.
Funding
Not specified in abstract
Conflicts of interest
Not specified in abstract
Questions still open
- Could acknowledging the meaning of cannabis use improve treatment engagement?
- How do meanings of cannabis use change across the lifespan or with changing legal status?
Read the original research
Revealing the Meaning of Cannabis Use as an Occupation: A Scoping Review.
Substance abuse : research and treatment, 17, 11782218221150113
Citation
Guyonnet, Emma; Stewart, Katherine E; Davis, Jane A. (2023). Revealing the Meaning of Cannabis Use as an Occupation: A Scoping Review.. Substance abuse : research and treatment, 17, 11782218221150113. https://doi.org/10.1177/11782218221150113