Alcohol

This is the first study of people living with HIV in Ontario that looks at the link between cannabis use and alcohol use over time. Increases in recreational cannabis use were associated with increases in alcohol use, while increases in medicinal cannabis use were not. The findings are relevant as heavy drinking has negative outcomes for people with HIV.

Many studies have shown that raising alcohol taxes or prices reduced alcohol-related harms such as violence, crimes, vehicle crashes, chronic diseases, transmission of STDs, and suicide. Decreasing hours of sale or decreasing availability of alcohol resulted in less consumption of alcohol and a significant decrease in alcohol-related harms.