title: Working on a Standard Joint Unit: A pilot test.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Assessing cannabis consumption remains complex due to no reliable registration systems. We tested the likelihood of establishing a Standard Joint Unit (SJU) which considers the main cannabinoids with implication on health through a naturalistic approach.  Methodology. Pilot study with current cannabis users of four areas of Barcelona: universities, nightclubs, out-patient mental health service, and cannabis associations. We designed and administered a questionnaire on cannabis use-patterns and determined the willingness to donate a joint for analysis. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the data.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Forty volunteers answered the questionnaire (response rate 95%); most of them were men (72.5%) and young adults (median age 24.5 years; IQR 8.75 years) who consume daily or nearly daily (70%). Most participants consume marihuana (85%) and roll their joints with a median of 0.25 gr of marihuana. Two out of three (67.5%) stated they were willing to donate a joint.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Obtaining an SJU with the planned methodology has proved to be feasible. Pre-testing resulted in an improvement of the questionnaire and retribution to incentivize donations. Establishing an SJU is essential to improve our knowledge on cannabis-related outcomes.
authors.affiliation: Institut d'Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS). Barcelona (Spain); Grup de Recerca en Adiccions Clínic (GRAC). Addictions Unit. Department of Psychiatry. Clinical Institute of Neuroscience, Hospital Clínic. Universitat de Barcelona. Red de Trastornos Adictivos (RTA).. casajuana@clinic.cat.
authors.forename: Cristina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Casajuana
authors.forename: Hugo
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: López-Pelayo
authors.forename: María
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mercedes Balcells
authors.forename: Laia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Miquel
authors.forename: Lídia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Teixidó
authors.forename: Joan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Colom
authors.forename: Antoni
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gual
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002186:Cannabinoids / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008385:Marijuana Smoking; D008875:Middle Aged; D010865:Pilot Projects; D057566:Self Report; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D002186:Cannabinoids