Pubdate: Fri, 22 Jul 2011
Source: AlterNet (US Web)
Copyright: 2011 Independent Media Institute
Website: http://www.alternet.org/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1451
Author: Dale Gieringer, Executive Director, NORML

THE REAL NUMBERS ON WHO'S TAKING MEDICAL MARIJUANA 

New Study Reveals the Population Charicteristics From Nine Assessment 
Clinics in California. 

An interesting new study of the California medical cannabis user
population by Prof. Craig Reinarman et al. appears in the Journal of
Psychoactive Drugs 43(2) Apr-Jun, 2011: "Who Are Medical Marijuana
Patients? Population Characteristics from Nine California Assessment
Clinics".

Noteworthy findings:

Medical cannabis use is higher than average among Blacks and Native
Americans, lower among Latinos and Asians.

73% of patients are male.

Use is heaviest in the 25-44 year age group.

Leading indications:

82.6% for pain

70.7% to improve sleep

55% for "relaxation"

41% for muscle spasms

41% for headaches

38% for anxiety

28% for nausea

26% for depression

51% use as a substitute for prescription medication (showing that
medical cannabis may offer significant health cost savings)

Medical cannabis users report significantly lower alcohol & cocaine
use than the average population, supporting the substitution theory
that more cannabis use may lead to less abuse of other drugs.

Abstract - Marijuana is a currently illegal psychoactive drug that
many physicians believe has substantial therapeutic uses. The medical
literature contains a growing number of studies on cannabinoids as
well as case studies and anecdotal reports suggesting therapeutic
potential. Fifteen states have passed medical marijuana laws, but
little is known about the growing population of patients who use
marijuana medicinally. This article reports on a sample of 1,746
patients from a network of nine medical marijuana evaluation clinics
in California. Patients completed a standardized medical history form;
evaluating physicians completed standardized evaluation forms. From
this data we describe patient characteristics, self-reported
presenting symptoms, physician evaluations, other treatments tried,
other drug use, and medical marijuana use practices. Pain, insomnia,
and anxiety were the most common conditions for which evaluating
physicians recommended medical marijuana. Shifts in the medical
marijuana patient population over time, the need for further research,
and the issue of diversion are discussed.
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MAP posted-by: Richard R Smith Jr.