Understanding the online landscape of cannabis discourse: a Twitter analysis
Background and aimsConsultations and admissions for pathologies related to cannabis use are growing ininterrumpedly. The lack of public awareness of the risks can have a negative impact on our society, as well as on new policy proposals. In response, we set out to investigate social media posts abou...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Frontiers Media S.A.
2025-07-01
|
| Series: | Frontiers in Public Health |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2025.1416171/full |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1849430574784053248 |
|---|---|
| author | Miguel Angel Alvarez-Mon Miguel Angel Alvarez-Mon Miguel Angel Alvarez-Mon Carla Ojeda Francisco Lara-Abelenda Francisco Lara-Abelenda Ángel Asunsolo del Barco Ángel Asunsolo del Barco Ángel Asunsolo del Barco Oscar Fraile-Martínez Oscar Fraile-Martínez Cielo García-Montero Cielo García-Montero Sonia Fernández-Rojo Javier Quintero Javier Quintero Miguel Angel Ortega Miguel Angel Ortega Melchor Alvarez-Mon Melchor Alvarez-Mon Melchor Alvarez-Mon Fernando Mora Fernando Mora |
| author_facet | Miguel Angel Alvarez-Mon Miguel Angel Alvarez-Mon Miguel Angel Alvarez-Mon Carla Ojeda Francisco Lara-Abelenda Francisco Lara-Abelenda Ángel Asunsolo del Barco Ángel Asunsolo del Barco Ángel Asunsolo del Barco Oscar Fraile-Martínez Oscar Fraile-Martínez Cielo García-Montero Cielo García-Montero Sonia Fernández-Rojo Javier Quintero Javier Quintero Miguel Angel Ortega Miguel Angel Ortega Melchor Alvarez-Mon Melchor Alvarez-Mon Melchor Alvarez-Mon Fernando Mora Fernando Mora |
| author_sort | Miguel Angel Alvarez-Mon |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background and aimsConsultations and admissions for pathologies related to cannabis use are growing ininterrumpedly. The lack of public awareness of the risks can have a negative impact on our society, as well as on new policy proposals. In response, we set out to investigate social media posts about cannabis to better understand the online environment in this regard.Design, setting, and measuresThe study will analyze a dataset of tweets posted between 2018 and 2022, written in Spanish, that include the keyword cannabis, marihuana, or hachis. A total of 68,673 tweets were included in our study. A subset of 500 posts for each keyword was manually analyzed by a researcher to establish a codebook. Subsequently, Machine Learning techniques were employed to analyze the remaining 67,173 comments using the established codebook. Finally, 32,646 of the remaining tweets were excluded as they contained information unrelated to the objectives of this study.FindingsOur research reveals a pronounced Twitter user engagement with cannabis, primarily centered on its regulatory and health dimensions. In more detail, 73.2% of the analyzed tweets were in favor and only 3.5% of the population expressed against its regulation, whereas only 20.4% of the tweets discussed the negative effects of cannabis on physical or mental health. Additionally, 30.1% of the tweets are in favor of the therapeutic use of cannabis, while 69.9% of tweets manifest neutral or against therapeutic use. Our findings also show significant differences on these topics depending on the user type and between consumers versus non-consumers.ConclusionThis analysis of tweets about cannabis provides information on experiences and opinions related to its use. Therefore, the perspectives of Twitter users constitute valuable input that can help improve physicians’ knowledge about cannabis and their communication with patients about its dangerousness. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-1d06803bceee4de39ebe8fbf29969abc |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2296-2565 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-07-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Public Health |
| spelling | doaj-art-1d06803bceee4de39ebe8fbf29969abc2025-08-20T03:27:57ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Public Health2296-25652025-07-011310.3389/fpubh.2025.14161711416171Understanding the online landscape of cannabis discourse: a Twitter analysisMiguel Angel Alvarez-Mon0Miguel Angel Alvarez-Mon1Miguel Angel Alvarez-Mon2Carla Ojeda3Francisco Lara-Abelenda4Francisco Lara-Abelenda5Ángel Asunsolo del Barco6Ángel Asunsolo del Barco7Ángel Asunsolo del Barco8Oscar Fraile-Martínez9Oscar Fraile-Martínez10Cielo García-Montero11Cielo García-Montero12Sonia Fernández-Rojo13Javier Quintero14Javier Quintero15Miguel Angel Ortega16Miguel Angel Ortega17Melchor Alvarez-Mon18Melchor Alvarez-Mon19Melchor Alvarez-Mon20Fernando Mora21Fernando Mora22Department of Medicine and Medical Specialities, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Alcala, Alcala de Henares, SpainRamón y Cajal Institute of Sanitary Research (IRYCIS), Madrid, SpainDepartment of Psychiatry and Mental Health, Hospital Universitario Infanta Leonor, Madrid, SpainDepartment of Psychiatry and Mental Health, Hospital Universitario Infanta Leonor, Madrid, SpainDepartment of Medicine and Medical Specialities, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Alcala, Alcala de Henares, SpainDepartamento Teoria de la Señal y Comunicaciones y Sistemas Telemáticos y Computación, Escuela Tecnica Superior de Ingenieria de Telecomunicación, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, Fuenlabrada, SpainRamón y Cajal Institute of Sanitary Research (IRYCIS), Madrid, SpainDepartment of Surgery, Medical and Social Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Alcalá, Alcala de Henares, SpainDepartment of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy, University of New York, New York, NY, United StatesDepartment of Medicine and Medical Specialities, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Alcala, Alcala de Henares, SpainRamón y Cajal Institute of Sanitary Research (IRYCIS), Madrid, SpainDepartment of Medicine and Medical Specialities, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Alcala, Alcala de Henares, SpainRamón y Cajal Institute of Sanitary Research (IRYCIS), Madrid, SpainDepartment of Psychiatry and Mental Health, Hospital Universitario Infanta Leonor, Madrid, SpainDepartment of Psychiatry and Mental Health, Hospital Universitario Infanta Leonor, Madrid, SpainDepartment of Legal and Psychiatry, Complutense University, Madrid, SpainDepartment of Medicine and Medical Specialities, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Alcala, Alcala de Henares, SpainRamón y Cajal Institute of Sanitary Research (IRYCIS), Madrid, SpainDepartment of Medicine and Medical Specialities, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Alcala, Alcala de Henares, SpainRamón y Cajal Institute of Sanitary Research (IRYCIS), Madrid, SpainService of Internal Medicine and Immune System Diseases-Rheumatology, University Hospital Príncipe de Asturias, (CIBEREHD), Alcalá de Henares, SpainDepartment of Psychiatry and Mental Health, Hospital Universitario Infanta Leonor, Madrid, SpainDepartment of Legal and Psychiatry, Complutense University, Madrid, SpainBackground and aimsConsultations and admissions for pathologies related to cannabis use are growing ininterrumpedly. The lack of public awareness of the risks can have a negative impact on our society, as well as on new policy proposals. In response, we set out to investigate social media posts about cannabis to better understand the online environment in this regard.Design, setting, and measuresThe study will analyze a dataset of tweets posted between 2018 and 2022, written in Spanish, that include the keyword cannabis, marihuana, or hachis. A total of 68,673 tweets were included in our study. A subset of 500 posts for each keyword was manually analyzed by a researcher to establish a codebook. Subsequently, Machine Learning techniques were employed to analyze the remaining 67,173 comments using the established codebook. Finally, 32,646 of the remaining tweets were excluded as they contained information unrelated to the objectives of this study.FindingsOur research reveals a pronounced Twitter user engagement with cannabis, primarily centered on its regulatory and health dimensions. In more detail, 73.2% of the analyzed tweets were in favor and only 3.5% of the population expressed against its regulation, whereas only 20.4% of the tweets discussed the negative effects of cannabis on physical or mental health. Additionally, 30.1% of the tweets are in favor of the therapeutic use of cannabis, while 69.9% of tweets manifest neutral or against therapeutic use. Our findings also show significant differences on these topics depending on the user type and between consumers versus non-consumers.ConclusionThis analysis of tweets about cannabis provides information on experiences and opinions related to its use. Therefore, the perspectives of Twitter users constitute valuable input that can help improve physicians’ knowledge about cannabis and their communication with patients about its dangerousness.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2025.1416171/fullcannabismarihuanahachisTwitterinfodemiology |
| spellingShingle | Miguel Angel Alvarez-Mon Miguel Angel Alvarez-Mon Miguel Angel Alvarez-Mon Carla Ojeda Francisco Lara-Abelenda Francisco Lara-Abelenda Ángel Asunsolo del Barco Ángel Asunsolo del Barco Ángel Asunsolo del Barco Oscar Fraile-Martínez Oscar Fraile-Martínez Cielo García-Montero Cielo García-Montero Sonia Fernández-Rojo Javier Quintero Javier Quintero Miguel Angel Ortega Miguel Angel Ortega Melchor Alvarez-Mon Melchor Alvarez-Mon Melchor Alvarez-Mon Fernando Mora Fernando Mora Understanding the online landscape of cannabis discourse: a Twitter analysis Frontiers in Public Health cannabis marihuana hachis infodemiology |
| title | Understanding the online landscape of cannabis discourse: a Twitter analysis |
| title_full | Understanding the online landscape of cannabis discourse: a Twitter analysis |
| title_fullStr | Understanding the online landscape of cannabis discourse: a Twitter analysis |
| title_full_unstemmed | Understanding the online landscape of cannabis discourse: a Twitter analysis |
| title_short | Understanding the online landscape of cannabis discourse: a Twitter analysis |
| title_sort | understanding the online landscape of cannabis discourse a twitter analysis |
| topic | cannabis marihuana hachis infodemiology |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2025.1416171/full |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT miguelangelalvarezmon understandingtheonlinelandscapeofcannabisdiscourseatwitteranalysis AT miguelangelalvarezmon understandingtheonlinelandscapeofcannabisdiscourseatwitteranalysis AT miguelangelalvarezmon understandingtheonlinelandscapeofcannabisdiscourseatwitteranalysis AT carlaojeda understandingtheonlinelandscapeofcannabisdiscourseatwitteranalysis AT franciscolaraabelenda understandingtheonlinelandscapeofcannabisdiscourseatwitteranalysis AT franciscolaraabelenda understandingtheonlinelandscapeofcannabisdiscourseatwitteranalysis AT angelasunsolodelbarco understandingtheonlinelandscapeofcannabisdiscourseatwitteranalysis AT angelasunsolodelbarco understandingtheonlinelandscapeofcannabisdiscourseatwitteranalysis AT angelasunsolodelbarco understandingtheonlinelandscapeofcannabisdiscourseatwitteranalysis AT oscarfrailemartinez understandingtheonlinelandscapeofcannabisdiscourseatwitteranalysis AT oscarfrailemartinez understandingtheonlinelandscapeofcannabisdiscourseatwitteranalysis AT cielogarciamontero understandingtheonlinelandscapeofcannabisdiscourseatwitteranalysis AT cielogarciamontero understandingtheonlinelandscapeofcannabisdiscourseatwitteranalysis AT soniafernandezrojo understandingtheonlinelandscapeofcannabisdiscourseatwitteranalysis AT javierquintero understandingtheonlinelandscapeofcannabisdiscourseatwitteranalysis AT javierquintero understandingtheonlinelandscapeofcannabisdiscourseatwitteranalysis AT miguelangelortega understandingtheonlinelandscapeofcannabisdiscourseatwitteranalysis AT miguelangelortega understandingtheonlinelandscapeofcannabisdiscourseatwitteranalysis AT melchoralvarezmon understandingtheonlinelandscapeofcannabisdiscourseatwitteranalysis AT melchoralvarezmon understandingtheonlinelandscapeofcannabisdiscourseatwitteranalysis AT melchoralvarezmon understandingtheonlinelandscapeofcannabisdiscourseatwitteranalysis AT fernandomora understandingtheonlinelandscapeofcannabisdiscourseatwitteranalysis AT fernandomora understandingtheonlinelandscapeofcannabisdiscourseatwitteranalysis |