Community-informed priorities for cannabis harm reduction research among LGBTQIA+ youth: Insights from a World Café

LGBTQIA+ youth consistently report higher rates of cannabis use and cannabis-related problems compared with their heterosexual and cisgender counterparts. These disparities underscore the necessity for cannabis use education and harm reduction strategies that are responsive to the specific social contexts, lived experiences and needs of LGBTQIA+ youth. Given the paucity of research in this area, we conducted a World Café consultation to identify research priorities, bringing together LGBTQIA+ youth, representatives from community organizations, researchers, and public health practitioners. This participatory process allowed the identification of four comprehensive community-informed research priorities: (1) Developing a compassionate understanding of cannabis harm reduction; (2) Adopting a holistic approach to acknowledge the inherent complexity of the cannabis use experience; (3) Leveraging research to inform impactful interventions and policy changes; and (4) Advancing an equitable body of evidence on cannabis use through an intersectional lens. These priorities and recommendations aim to catalyze research activities producing compassionate, nuanced, and holistic knowledge to inform more equitable services and policies for LGBTQIA+ youth.