Medical cannabis patterns of use and substitution for opioids & other pharmaceutical drugs, alcohol, tobacco, and illicit substances; results from a cross-sectional survey of authorized patients
Medical cannabis patterns of use and substitution for opioids & other pharmaceutical drugs, alcohol, tobacco, and illicit substances; results from a cross-sectional survey of authorized patients
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DOI：
10.1186/s12954-019-0278-6
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发表时间：
2019-01-28
影响因子：
4.4
通讯作者：
Jikomes, Nick
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
Lucas, Philippe;Baron, Eric P.;Jikomes, Nick
背景：2017 年 1 月通过电子邮件发出了一项包含 239 个问题的横断面调查，旨在从在联邦授权许可的大麻生产商处登记的加拿大医用大麻患者那里收集有关大麻使用的全面信息，从而完成了 2032 份完整的调查。方法：该调查收集了详细的人口统计数据和有关医用大麻使用患者模式的全面信息，包括评估大麻对使用处方药、非法物质、酒精和烟草的自我报告影响的问题。结果：参与者62.6% 为男性 (n = 1271)，91% 为白种人 (n = 1839)。平均年龄为 40 岁，有疼痛和心理健康问题的占所有受访者的 83.7% (n = 1700)。然后，74.6% 的受访者报告每天使用大麻（n = 1515），平均每天使用量为 1.5 克。最常提到的替代品是处方药（69.1%，n = 953），其次是酒精（44.5%，n = 515）、烟草（31.1%，n = 406）和违禁药物（26.6%，n = 136）。阿片类药物占所有处方药替代品的 35.3% (n = 610)，其次是抗抑郁药 (21.5%，n = 371)。在 610 次提及的特定阿片类药物中，有 59.3% 的患者报告完全停止使用（n = 362）。结论：这项研究通过关注在加拿大联邦医用大麻计划中注册的患者使用标准化、政府监管的医用大麻来源的情况提供了独特的视角。这些研究结果提供了患者使用医用大麻的模式以及随后自我报告的对阿片类药物、酒精和其他物质使用的影响的详细了解，增加了越来越多的学术研究表明，增加对医疗和娱乐大麻的使用可以减少阿片类药物、酒精、烟草和其他物质的使用和随之而来的危害。
Background: A 239-question cross-sectional survey was sent out via email in January 2017 to gather comprehensive information on cannabis use from Canadian medical cannabis patients registered with a federally authorized licensed cannabis producer, resulting in 2032 complete surveys.Methods: The survey gathered detailed demographic data and comprehensive information on patient patterns of medical cannabis use, including questions assessing the self-reported impact of cannabis on the use of prescription drugs, illicit substances, alcohol, and tobacco.Results: Participants were 62.6% male (n = 1271) and 91% Caucasian (n = 1839). The mean age was 40 years old, and pain and mental health conditions accounted for 83.7% of all respondents (n = 1700). Then, 74.6% of respondents reported daily cannabis use (n = 1515) and mean amount used per day was 1.5 g. The most commonly cited substitution was for prescription drugs (69.1%, n = 953), followed by alcohol (44.5%, n = 515), tobacco (31.1%, n = 406), and illicit substances (26.6%, n = 136). Opioid medications accounted for 35.3% of all prescription drug substitution (n = 610), followed by antidepressants (21.5%, n = 371). Of the 610 mentions of specific opioid medications, patients report total cessation of use of 59.3% (n = 362).Conclusions: This study offers a unique perspective by focusing on the use of a standardized, government-regulated source of medical cannabis by patients registered in Canada's federal medical cannabis program. The findings provide a granular view of patient patterns of medical cannabis use, and the subsequent self-reported impacts on the use of opioids, alcohol, and other substances, adding to a growing body of academic research suggesting that increased regulated access to medical and recreational cannabis can result in a reduction in the use of and subsequent harms associated with opioids, alcohol, tobacco, and other substances.