ArticleJMIR infodemiology2025
Global Influence of Cannabis Legalization on Social Media Discourse: Mixed Methods Study.
Article in JMIR infodemiology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Background: Cannabis is the third most consumed drug worldwide, with its use linked to a high number of substance use disorders, particularly among young men. Associated mortality causes include traffic accidents and cardiovascular diseases. The global expansion of cannabis legalization has sparked debates about its impact on risk perception, with risk perception decreasing in countries with permissive laws. Social media analysis, such as on Twitter (subsequently rebranded as X), is a useful tool for studying these perceptions and their variation by geographic region. Objective: This study aims to analyze Twitter users' perceptions of cannabis use and legalization, taking into account the geographic location of the tweets. Methods: A mixed methods approach was used to analyze cannabis-related tweets on Twitter, using keywords such as "cannabis," "marijuana," and "hashish." Tweets were collected from January 1, 2018, to April 30, 2022, in English and Spanish, and only those with at least 10 retweets were included. The content analysis involved an inductive-deductive approach, resulting in the classification of tweets into thematic categories, including discussions on legalization. Results: The tweet analysis showed that in America, Europe, and Asia, political discussions about cannabis were the most common topic, while personal testimonies dominated in Oceania and Africa. In all continents, personal experiences with cannabis use were mostly positive, with Oceania recording the highest percentage (1642/2695, 60.93%). Regarding legalization, Oceania also led with the highest percentage of tweets in favor (1836/2695, 68.13%), followed by America and Africa, while support in Europe and Asia was slightly lower, with about half of the tweets in favor. Conclusions: The political debate has been the most frequently mentioned topic, reflecting the current situation in which legislative changes are being discussed in many countries. The predominance of opinions in favor of legalization, combined with the prevalence of positive experiences expressed about cannabis, suggests that the health risks associated with cannabis use are being underestimated in the public debate.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What Socratic holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.