Key Takeaways
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Habit is a threat for medical marijuana sufferers
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Medical customers are as possible or extra more likely to develop hashish use dysfunction as leisure customers
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Additionally they have a tendency to make use of weed 40% to 70% extra days on common in a yr
FRIDAY, Jan. 24, 2025 (HealthDay Information) — Individuals utilizing weed for medical functions are as possible – or extra – to change into hooked on hashish as leisure tokers, a brand new research says.
Of us utilizing medical marijuana have been extra more likely to have hashish use dysfunction than those that get excessive recreationally, researchers reported in a research revealed Jan. 22 in JAMA Psychiatry.
Medical marijuana sufferers additionally had extra days of weed use than leisure customers, researchers discovered.
“These findings counsel that medically advisable hashish isn’t related to lowered habit threat in contrast with nonmedical use,” the analysis crew led by Dr. Nora Volkow, director of the Nationwide Institute on Drug Abuse, concluded.
“Clinicians ought to take into account habit threat earlier than recommending medical hashish and, in the event that they do, ought to monitor for CUD [cannabis use disorder] emergence,” the researchers added.
About 3 in 10 individuals who use weed develop hashish use dysfunction, through which they’ll’t cease toking though it’s inflicting well being and social issues of their lives, in accordance with the U.S. Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention (CDC).
To see if medical customers run the identical habit threat as leisure customers, researchers analyzed knowledge from a federal survey on drug use and well being performed in 2021-2022.
Amongst practically 73,000 adults who reported latest hashish use, about 84% stated they acquired excessive solely for leisure functions. One other 9% reported medical-only use, and practically 6% stated they used each medically and recreationally.
Total, about 35% of your complete group had hashish use dysfunction, primarily based on the signs they reported within the survey, researchers stated.
Those that used medical marijuana have been extra more likely to have problematic use, outcomes present:
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About 14% of medical customers and 13% of medical/leisure customers amongst males 18 to 34 had extreme hashish use dysfunction, in contrast with greater than 8% of leisure customers.
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About 7% of medical customers and 12% of medical/ leisure customers amongst girls 18 to 34, had extreme hashish use dysfunction, in contrast with 6% of leisure customers.
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Amongst males 35 to 49, 5% of medical customers, practically 7% of medical/leisure customers, and 4% of leisure customers had extreme hashish use dysfunction. Amongst girls in the identical age group, 2% every of medical and nonmedical customers and 4% of these with each medical and leisure use had extreme hashish use dysfunction.
Medical marijuana sufferers additionally tended to make use of weed extra days on common in the course of the previous yr.
Medical and medical/leisure customers smoked a mean 40% to 70% extra days every year than leisure tokers, researchers discovered.
For instance, 18- to 24-year-old males used medical marijuana 217 days on common, in contrast with 212 days for medical/leisure customers and 154 for purely leisure customers.
“Increased hashish use dysfunction prevalence amongst adults with medical-only use may mirror extra frequent hashish use,” the researchers concluded of their paper.
Extra data
The U.S. Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention has extra on hashish use dysfunction.
SOURCE: JAMA Psychiatry, Jan. 22, 2025
What This Means For You
Medical marijuana sufferers must be conscious they run the identical threat of habit as individuals who use recreationally.
