Individual differences in legal and illicit cannabis purchasing behaviour in British Columbia, Canada: Findings from a 2021 cross-sectional survey.

BACKGROUND: Despite thousands of licensed cannabis retail stores operating across Canada, there remains a significant illicit cannabis market. Some cannabis users continue to buy cannabis from dealers, illicit stores, and/or illicit online retailers. METHODS: Data are from the 2021 British Columbia Cannabis Use Survey. Respondents (n = 8473) were 19 years or older, lived in British Columbia at the time of the survey, and reported using cannabis in the past 12 months. RESULTS: Buying cannabis from all types of illicit sources was more common among younger cannabis users, those who use cannabis more frequently and started using cannabis before the age of 17 (vs. 19 or older), and among those who co-use cannabis with other drugs. Specifically, buying cannabis from a dealer was more common among men, those with lower educational attainment, and those who seek the lowest prices when buying cannabis. In contrast, those using cannabis for medical (vs. non-medical) purposes were more likely to report getting cannabis from illicit retail stores, while buying cannabis from illicit websites was more common among people who use edible cannabis products. CONCLUSION: Consistent with other studies, younger and more frequent cannabis users were more likely to report buying cannabis from illicit sources. However, these findings suggest there is significant heterogeneity among those who buy cannabis from different types of illicit sources, which should be carefully considered when developing policies and strategies aimed at encouraging consumers to transition to legal sources.

Understanding changes in eating behavior during the transition to university from a self-determination theory perspective: a systematic review.

Objective: The objective of this systematic review was to understand how and why eating behavior changes during the transition to university, and interpret findings from a self-determination theory perspective (Ryan & Deci, 2000). Methods: We searched six databases and identified 51 articles with findings involving changes in eating behavior during the transition to university. Results: During this transition, students eat less food, less healthy, and less regularly. These changes are mostly among students who move into a university residence or off-campus housing, with few changes in eating behavior among students who continue living at home. Yet, incoming students with food skills and experience living independently seem less likely to experience these changes. Conclusions: The university context offers challenges to eating healthy. Students' satisfaction of psychological needs may explain observed changes in habits, self-regulation, and motivation.

Healthy eating in daily life: the role of relative autonomous motivation when it is difficult.

Most people try to eat healthy, but the temptation of unhealthy foods (among other factors) can make it difficult. Despite these difficulties, some people still achieve their healthy eating goals. Following self-determination theory (SDT; Ryan & Deci, 2000), we propose that relative autonomous motivation (RAM) can foster people's effort in pursuing health goals. In two daily diary studies, we tested the hypothesis that RAM predicts attainment of healthy eating goals, especially when it is difficult. In Study 1, we focused on difficulties associated with trying to eat certain foods while avoiding others, whereas in Study 2, we focused on difficulties associated with the availability of unhealthy and healthy foods. Multilevel analyses provided some support our hypothesis, and highlighted the role of RAM for eating (vs. skipping) lunch and packing a lunch-two approach-based healthy eating strategies. We discuss these findings in relation to SDT and propose directions for future research on within-person changes in motivation and other sources of difficulty. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11031-022-09960-3.