The social-structural contexts of cannabis consumption and harm reduction among young Nigerian women

Young women remain under-represented in the research literature on young people's cannabis use. This study explored cannabis use and harm reduction practices of young Nigerian women.

The study draws on 19 in-depth interviews conducted with young women aged 21-35 years who were recruited through time-location sampling in Uyo, Nigeria. Interview transcripts were subjected to thematic coding and analysis.

Accounts highlighted a rapid progression from occasional consumption during hang-outs to regular and heavy consumption for most participants. Frequent and heavy cannabis use, shaped by trauma, stress and mental health problems linked to participants' marginal social locations, established a context of risk for health harms. The participants sought to reduce harms by attempting to reduce frequency and quantity of cannabis consumed, often with limited success. They also micro-dosed to monitor drug effects, avoided mixing cannabis with more potent drugs, sought out cannabis strains with lower THC as well as consuming privately to reduce social harms such as violence and police arrest associated with using in street milieus. On the other hand, cannabis consumption was seen as helping to reduce harms by providing a relatively safer and less addictive alternative to drugs such as heroin and pharmaceutical opioids, preventing high-risk sexual exchanges often associated with opioid withdrawal among women, and relieving pain.

Cannabis was consumed recreationally at first, and harmful consumption patterns developed from using cannabis to treat the psychological symptoms of structural inequalities. The analysis supports the social-structural production of drug-related harms, foregrounding the importance of structural-level interventions for creating an enabling environment for safer consumption.