Whither RDS? An investigation of respondent driven sampling as a method of recruiting mainstream marijuana users
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Résumé·s
Background: An important challenge in conducting social research of specific relevance to harm reduction programs
is locating hidden populations of consumers of substances like cannabis who typically report few adverse or unwanted
consequences of their use. Much of the deviant, pathologized perception of drug users is historically derived from, and
empirically supported, by a research emphasis on gaining ready access to users in drug treatment or in prison
populations with higher incidence of problems of dependence and misuse. Because they are less visible, responsible
recreational users of illicit drugs have been more difficult to study.
Methods: This article investigates Respondent Driven Sampling (RDS) as a method of recruiting experienced
marijuana users representative of users in the general population. Based on sampling conducted in a multi-city study
(Halifax, Montreal, Toronto, and Vancouver), and compared to samples gathered using other research methods, we
assess the strengths and weaknesses of RDS recruitment as a means of gaining access to illicit substance users who
experience few harmful consequences of their use. Demographic characteristics of the sample in Toronto are
compared with those of users in a recent household survey and a pilot study of Toronto where the latter utilized
nonrandom self-selection of respondents.
Results: A modified approach to RDS was necessary to attain the target sample size in all four cities (i.e., 40 'users' from
each site). The final sample in Toronto was largely similar, however, to marijuana users in a random household survey
that was carried out in the same city. Whereas well-educated, married, whites and females in the survey were all
somewhat overrepresented, the two samples, overall, were more alike than different with respect to economic status
and employment. Furthermore, comparison with a self-selected sample suggests that (even modified) RDS
recruitment is a cost-effective way of gathering respondents who are more representative of users in the general
population than nonrandom methods of recruitment ordinarily produce.
Conclusions: Research on marijuana use, and other forms of drug use hidden in the general population of adults, is
important for informing and extending harm reduction beyond its current emphasis on 'at-risk' populations.
Expanding harm reduction in a normalizing context, through innovative research on users often overlooked, further
challenges assumptions about reducing harm through prohibition of drug use and urges consideration of alternative
policies such as decriminalization and legal regulation.