HealthDay News — Adults aged 18 to 49 years reporting medical-only or medical-nonmedical cannabis use may have a higher prevalence of cannabis use disorder (CUD) than those reporting nonmedical only, according to a research letter published online Jan. 22 in JAMA Psychiatry.
The researchers found that 29.5 percent of respondents reported past-year cannabis use: 83.7 percent for nonmedical-only use, 9.2 percent medical-only use, and 5.7 percent for medical-nonmedical use. More than one-third (34.8 percent) had CUD. A higher adjusted prevalence of severe, moderate, and mild CUD was seen among men and women aged 18 to 34 years and men aged 35 to 49 years reporting medical-only or medical-nonmedical use versus those reporting nonmedical-only use. Adults reporting medical-only or medical-nonmedical use had more days of cannabis use than those reporting nonmedical-only use.
“Clinicians should consider addiction risk before recommending medical cannabis and, if they do, should monitor for CUD emergence,” the authors write.
One author disclosed having long-term stocks with relevant companies.