The Therapeutic, Recreational, and Problematic Substance Use lab focuses on the use of cannabis and psychedelics for therapeutic and recreational purposes, and on the associations between cannabis use, mental health and addictions. Ongoing projects include: evaluating the efficacy of cannabis for post-traumatic stress-disorder; examining the association between psychedelics and violence; identifying barriers to access for medical cannabis; developing and implementing a standardization and certification framework for medical cannabis dispensaries; specifying the role of mood and cognition in the analgesic effects of cannabis, and investigating cannabis use trajectories among university students.
Selected Publications
Thiessen, M. S., Walsh, Z., Bird, B. M., & Lafrance, A. (2018). Psychedelic use and intimate partner violence: The role of emotion regulation. Journal of Psychopharmacology, 32(7), 749-755.
Walsh, Z., Gonzalez, R., Crosby, K., Thiessen, M. S., Carroll, C., Bonn-Miller, M. O. (2017). Medical cannabis and mental health: A guided systematic review. Clinical Psychology Review, 51, 15-29.
Walsh, Z., Hendricks, P. S., Smith, S., Kosson, D. S., Thiessen, M. S., Lucas, P., & Swogger, M. T. (2016). Hallucinogen use and intimate partner violence: Prospective evidence consistent with protective effects among men with histories of problematic substance use. Journal of Psychopharmacology, 30(7), 601-607.
Lucas, P., Walsh, Z., Crosby, K., Callaway, R., Belle‐Isle, L., Kay, R., Capler, R., & Holtzman, S. (2015). Substituting cannabis for prescription drugs, alcohol and other substances among medical cannabis patients: The impact of contextual factors. Drug and Alcohol Review.
Swogger, M. T., Hart, E., Erowid, F., Erowid, E., Trabold, N., Yee, K., Parkhurst, A., Priddy, B. M., & Walsh, Z. (2015). Experience of Kratom users: A qualitative analysis. Journal of Psychoactive Drugs.
Belle-Isle, L.*, Walsh, Z.*, Lucas, P., Callaway, R., Capler, R., Kay, R., & Holtzman, S. (2014). Barrier to access for Canadians who use cannabis for therapeutic purposes. International Journal of Drug Policy, 25, 691-699. * co-lead authors
Walsh, Z., Callaway, R., Belle-Isle, L., Capler, R., Kay, R., Lucas, P., & Holtzman, S. (2013). Cannabis for therapeutic purposes: Patient characteristics, access, and reasons for use. International Journal of Drug Policy, 24, 511-516.
Walsh, Z. (2013). Psychopathy and criminal violence: The moderating effect of ethnicity. Law & Human Behavior, 37, 303-311.
Walsh, Z., Shea, M. T., Yen, S., Edelen, M.O., Hopwood, C. J., Markowitz, J. C., Ansell, E. B., Morey, L. C., Grilo, C. M., Sanislow, C. A., Skodol, A. E., Gunderson, J. G., Zanarini, M.C.,& McGlashan, T.H. (2012). Socioeconomic-status and mental health in a personality disorder sample: The importance of neighbourhood factors. Journal of Personality Disorders, 26, 1-12.
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