Comparing adults who use cannabis medically with those who use recreationally: Results from a national sample

Abstract

Objectives Cannabis has been legalized for medical use in almost half of the states in the U.S. Although laws in these states make the distinction between medical and recreational use of cannabis, the prevalence of people using medical cannabis and how distinct this group is from individuals using cannabis recreationally is unknown at a national level. Methods Data came from the 2013 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH). All adults endorsing past year cannabis use who reported living in a state that had legalized medical cannabis were divided into recreational cannabis use only and medical cannabis use. Demographic and clinical characteristics were compared across these two groups. Results 17% of adults who used cannabis in the past year used cannabis medically. There were no significant differences between those who used medically versus recreationally in race, education, past year depression and prevalence of cannabis use disorders. In adjusted analyses, those with medical cannabis use were more likely to have poorer health and lower levels of alcohol use disorders and non-cannabis drug use. A third of those who reported medical cannabis use endorsed daily cannabis use compared to 11% in those who reported recreational use exclusively. Conclusions Adults who use medical and recreational cannabis shared some characteristics, but those who used medical cannabis had higher prevalence of poor health and daily cannabis use. As more states legalize cannabis for medical use, it is important to better understand similarities and differences between people who use cannabis medically and recreationally.

Prevalence and correlates of “Vaping” as a route of cannabis administration in medical cannabis patients

“…For example, anecdotal evidence from our study sites suggested that some physicians may be advising patients to adopt vaping as a rout of administration, which might have resulted in higher rates of vaping in this sample. Finally, recent work showed some differences between medical and recreational cannabis users (Lin et al, 2016; Pacula et al, 2016), but we were unable to distinguish between medical and recreational use in the current study.…”

Prevalence and correlates of sleep-related problems in adults receiving medical cannabis for chronic pain

“…A previous study (Belendiuk et al, 2015) showed that medical cannabis users with insomnia used strains of cannabis with significantly higher concentrations of CBD, which may have affected interpretation of our findings. Finally, recent work showed some differences between medical and recreational cannabis users (Lin et al, 2016; Pacula et al, 2016), but the present study was limited to medical cannabis patients with chronic pain who reported that they were seeking cannabis for medical reasons.…”

“…Epidemiological evidence has indicated that, among past-year cannabis users, about 10% reported using cannabis for medical reasons (Compton et al, 2017); among past-year cannabis users living in states where medical cannabis has been legalized, 17% reported using for medical reasons (Lin et al, 2016). The rapidly changing epidemiology of medical cannabis highlights the importance of research on the potential beneficial and adverse effects of cannabis use (Volkow et al, 2017).…”

Cannabis Epidemiology: A Selective Review

“…In the absence of credible epidemiological estimates, it may be necessary to turn to estimates for the United States, which suggest that as many as one in 7–8 cannabis users in the US might be engaged in medical marijuana use [7]. Whiting and colleagues have prepared a useful systematic review of randomized controlled trials on an array of indications and cannabinoid effects as observed under RCT-controlled conditions [8].…”