A snapshot of public health research projects on global trends in alcohol and cannabis use during COVID-19, and drug use at festivals

This seminar will comprise an overview of three research projects. First, I will present findings from two studies using data from the Global Drug Survey’s COVID-19 edition. The first focused on global changes in alcohol use at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the impacts of these changes on the health and wellbeing of people with and without mental health and neurodevelopmental conditions. The second focused on global changes in cannabis use in the initial stages of the pandemic, and the impacts of these changes on respondents’ mental health, physical health, relationships, finances, work/study performance and cannabis-related pleasure/enjoyment. Finally, I will describe results from a study recently completed in partnership with researchers from QAEHS, which involved triangulation of data from surveys and wastewater collected during two iterations of an annual music festival to understand patterns of drug use at the festival. Results highlight the potential value of drug checking services in these settings.

The seminar will be presented by Dr Cheneal Puljević, an ARC DECRA Fellow from UQ’s School of Public Health.