Cannabis Use Among US Young Adult Cancer Survivors: Impacts of Legal Context, Information Sources, and Interactions with Healthcare Providers.

Berg C.; McCready D.; Schubel L.; Mihelich D.; Johnson M.; LoParco C.; Arem H. · Substance use & misuse · 2026

**Background & Methods** This qualitative study conducted in 2025 examined medical cannabis (MC) use among young adult (YA) cancer survivors aged 18-39 through semi-structured interviews with 23 participants reporting past-month cannabis use (mean age 33.65 years; 73.9% female; mean 1.22 years post-treatment). The study assessed implications of cannabis legalization, MC information sources, healthcare provider interactions, and symptoms managed through thematic analysis. **Key Findings** • Legal context significantly influenced MC access and use patterns: 56.5% of participants lived in MC-only legal states during cancer treatment, which shifted to 73.9% in fully legal states at interview time, demonstrating cannabis legalization's facilitative role in enabling use among this population. • Participants relied primarily on non-clinical information sources, including dispensaries, social networks, and personal research/experimentation, rather than healthcare providers or evidence-based resources for MC guidance. • Healthcare provider interactions varied considerably, ranging from minimal communication to provider hesitancy, active support, contradictory information, and stigma-related concerns; participants expressed desire for shared decision-making and better healthcare integration of MC discussions. • Participants reported using cannabis to manage various cancer-related symptoms and conditions with perceived effectiveness, though specific symptoms and efficacy data were not detailed in the abstract. **Dosage & Administration** Not reported. **Safety & Adverse Effects** Not reported. The abstract mentions participants had "concerns/cautions about MC use vs. alternatives" but does not specify adverse effects observed. **Evidence Quality** This qualitative study represents lower-level evidence (Level 4) limited by small sample size (n=23), potential selection bias (only past-month users interviewed), and geographic heterogeneity in cannabis legality. The predominantly White (73.9%) and female (73.9%) sample limits generalizability. As a qualitative review conducted during a rapidly evolving legal landscape, findings provide rich contextual insights but lack quantitative outcome measures, control groups, or causal inferences. The reliance on retrospective self-report and thematic analysis without inter-rater reliability statistics reported further limits evidence quality. Findings are valuable for understanding real-world experiences but cannot establish efficacy or safety.

More recent cannabis research