Do Sex Differences and Risk Perception Affect Cannabis Exposure? Results from a Sample of Current Cannabis Users from the European Web Survey on Drugs

Abstract

The rates of cannabis use have been narrowing between sexes over the past decade, and there are sex differences in the perception of cannabis use-related risks, yet it remains unexamined whether sex and risk perception interact to predict cannabis consumption levels. We aimed to examine for the first time how sex, risk perception, and their interaction affect cannabis consumption, accounting for age, alcohol use, mode of administration, education, employment status, and country via general linear mixed models. We conducted the European Web Survey on Drugs in 16 countries from 2016 to 2018. People who used cannabis at the time of the study included 6500 males and 2921 females, with a median age of 22 years. There was no risk perception-by-sex interaction effect on cannabis consumption. Greater past-month cannabis dosage in grams and frequency (days used/past month) were reported by males and by persons who reported having a perception of no risk and of a slight risk versus a moderate-to-high-risk perception. The findings may inform discussions on public health messaging aimed at alleviating cannabis-related harms in males and females who use cannabis.