Cannabinoid Use Experience among inpatients with psychotic symptoms – A Cross-Sectional study in a Portuguese Hospital

Background: Cannabinoids are the most used illicit substance among patients hospitalized in Psychiatry services, particularly those with psychotic symptoms. Cannabinoids induce both mental and physiological responses, which can lead to diverse experiences and may serve as motivation for continued use. This study aims to explore the subjective experience of cannabinoids use both during and after intoxication, in a population of inpatients with psychotic symptoms. 

Methods: Data were collected for all inpatients presenting with psychotic symptoms at Psychiatry and Mental Health Department of Tâmega e Sousa Hospital Centre, throughout the year 2019. During the hospitalization, Cannabis Experience Questionnaire was administered to assess the pattern and experience of cannabinoids consumption. Patients rated the frequency of specific experiences associated with cannabinoids use from “rarely or never” to “almost always”, responses that were transposed onto a numeric scale from 1 to 5, respectively. The collected data underwent quantitative analysis, including descriptive statistics. 

Results: A total of 112 variables were collected from 107 episodes. The questionnaire was answered by 86% of the individuals, with the predominant sociodemographic profile represented by a male individual (72%), with an average age of 40.4 years (SD 14.2), unmarried (70.3%), having completed the 9th year of schooling (31.1%), unemployed (37.0%), and residing in a two-person household (38.5%). Of these, 44 individuals responded to all 13 parameters of the experience questionnaire, exploring euphoria effects, slowing and amotivational effects, distortions of reality and self-perception, and anxiety and paranoia effects, with the main results being summarized in the following table.  

Table 1: Experience of cannabinoids use during intoxication and after intoxication (n=44) 

Conclusions: Most of the experiences questioned garnered attention specifically during cannabinoid consumption, except for auditory hallucinations, which demonstrated undeniable significance post-intoxication. Every patient surveyed disclosed psychomotor slowing during intoxication, a factor that may act as a motivation for consumption, especially in the presence of productive symptoms. This study provides information for a more comprehensive understanding of the experiences of cannabinoids use in individuals with psychotic symptoms.