Canadian Guidelines on Cannabis Use Disorder Among Older Adults

Jonathan R Bertram; Amy Porath; Dallas Seitz; Harold Kalant; Ashok Krishnamoorthy; Jason Nickerson; Amanjot Sidhu; Andra Smith; Rand Teed

doi:10.5770/cgj.23.424

Canadian Guidelines on Cannabis Use Disorder Among Older Adults

Can Geriatr J. 2020 Mar 30;23(1):135-142. doi: 10.5770/cgj.23.424. eCollection 2020 Mar.

Authors

Jonathan R Bertram^{1

2}, Amy Porath³, Dallas Seitz⁴, Harold Kalant^{1

3

5}, Ashok Krishnamoorthy^{6

7}, Jason Nickerson^{8

9}, Amanjot Sidhu^{10

11}, Andra Smith^{9

12}, Rand Teed^{1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12}

Affiliations

¹ Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, ON.
² Department of Family & Community Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON.
³ Canadian Centre for Substance Use and Addiction, Ottawa, On.
⁴ Department of Psychiatry, Hotchkiss Brain Institute and O'Brien Institute for Public Health, Cumming School of Medicine; University of Calgary, Calgary, AB.
⁵ Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON.
⁶ Department of Psychiatry, University of British Colombia, Vancouver, BC.
⁷ Vancouver Coastal Health Authority, Vancouver, BC.
⁸ Centre for Health Law, Policy and Ethics, Faculty of Law, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON.
⁹ Bruyère Research Institute, Ottawa, ON.
¹⁰ Division of Geriatric Medicine, Hamilton Health Sciences, Hamilton, ON.
¹¹ Faculty of Health Sciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON.
¹² School of Psychology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON.

Abstract

Background: Cannabis Use Disorder (CUD) is an emerging and diverse challenge among older adults.

Methods: The Canadian Coalition for Seniors' Mental Health, with financial support from Health Canada, has produced evidence-based guidelines on the prevention, identification, assessment, and treatment of this form of substance use disorder.

Conclusions: Older adults may develop CUD in the setting of recreational and even medical use. Clinicians should remain vigilant for the detection of CUD, and they should be aware of strategies for prevention and managing its emergence and consequences The full version of these guidelines can be accessed at www.ccsmh.ca.

Keywords: cannabis; older adults; substance use disorder.