Dataset Information

Cannabis Use for Medicinal Purposes among Canadian University Students.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

The study sought to describe a Canadian sample of university students' medicinal use of cannabis, including prevalence of cannabis use disorder (CUD) and replacement of traditional treatments with cannabis.

Method

A random sample of 4000 university students was asked to complete a cross-sectional web-based survey. The survey was completed by 2212 (average age 23.2 years, SD = 5.2 years), representing a 55.3% response rate. To be eligible, students had to be enrolled in a class on campus and were 18 years or older.

Result

Half (52%) of respondents used cannabis at least once in their lifetime, with ∼11% reporting medicinal cannabis use. Recreational motives to use cannabis were common among medicinal users (85%), several (38%) replaced traditional medication with cannabis, and more than a third received authorization by a health care provider. Of the medicinal users, 13.6% met the criteria for CUD. Common ailments for medicinal cannabis use were anxiety, sleep problems, depression, and pain. When mental health-related categories are combined, 78.2% of medicinal users used for at least 1 mental health condition.

Conclusions

Medicinal cannabis use occurs among university students. None of the ailments listed by medicinal users meet the Canadian Family Physicians prescribing guidelines, and most are not among those viewed by the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine as having strong evidence for therapeutic value. The results raise concerns for health care providers who are authorizing or counselling patients' considering medicinal cannabis.

SUBMITTER: Smith JM

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6591886 | biostudies-literature | 2019 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Cannabis Use for Medicinal Purposes among Canadian University Students.

Smith Jacqueline M JM Mader Joel J Szeto Andrew C H ACH Arria Amelia M AM Winters Ken C KC Wilkes T Chris R TCR

Canadian journal of psychiatry. Revue canadienne de psychiatrie 20190102 5

<h4>Objective</h4>The study sought to describe a Canadian sample of university students' medicinal use of cannabis, including prevalence of cannabis use disorder (CUD) and replacement of traditional treatments with cannabis.<h4>Method</h4>A random sample of 4000 university students was asked to complete a cross-sectional web-based survey. The survey was completed by 2212 (average age 23.2 years, SD = 5.2 years), representing a 55.3% response rate. To be eligible, students had to be enrolled in a ...[more]

PMID: 30602305

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Dataset Information

Cannabis Use for Medicinal Purposes among Canadian University Students.

Objective

Method

Result

Conclusions

Publications

Cannabis Use for Medicinal Purposes among Canadian University Students.

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