Ryan-Ibarra Suzanne, Induni Marta, Ewing Danielle
Survey Research Group, Public Health Institute, Sacramento, California, USA.
Drug Alcohol Rev. 2015 Mar;34(2):141-6. doi: 10.1111/dar.12207. Epub 2014 Sep 26.
The US Drug Enforcement Agency classifies marijuana as an illegal substance, yet in 22 states marijuana is legal for medicinal use. In 1996, California legalised the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes, but population-based data describing medical marijuana users in the state has not been available. Our aim was to examine the demographic differences between users and non-users of medical marijuana in California utilising population-based data.
We used data from the California Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System 2012, an annual, random-digit-dial state-wide telephone survey that collects health data from a representative adult sample (n = 7525). Age-adjusted prevalence rates were estimated.
Five percent of adults in California reported ever using medical marijuana, and most users believed that medical marijuana helped alleviate symptoms or treat a serious medical condition. Prevalence was similar when compared by gender, education and region. Prevalence of ever using medical marijuana was highest among white adults and younger adults ages 18-24 years, although use was reported by every racial/ethnic and age group examined in our study and ranged from 2% to 9%.
Our study's results lend support to the idea that medical marijuana is used equally by many groups of people and is not exclusively used by any one specific group. As more states approve marijuana use for medical purposes, it is important to track medical marijuana use as a health-related behaviour and risk factor.
美国缉毒局将大麻归类为非法物质，但在22个州大麻用于医疗用途是合法的。1996年，加利福尼亚州将大麻用于医疗目的合法化，但该州缺乏基于人群描述医用大麻使用者的数据。我们的目的是利用基于人群的数据研究加利福尼亚州医用大麻使用者与非使用者之间的人口统计学差异。
我们使用了2012年加利福尼亚行为风险因素监测系统的数据，这是一项每年进行的全州随机数字拨号电话调查，从具有代表性的成年样本（n = 7525）中收集健康数据。估计了年龄调整患病率。
加利福尼亚州5%的成年人报告曾使用过医用大麻，大多数使用者认为医用大麻有助于缓解症状或治疗严重疾病。按性别、教育程度和地区比较时，患病率相似。曾使用医用大麻的患病率在白人成年人和18 - 24岁的年轻成年人中最高，尽管我们研究中调查的每个种族/族裔和年龄组都有使用报告，范围从2%到9%。
我们研究的结果支持这样一种观点，即许多人群都平等地使用医用大麻，并非仅由任何一个特定群体使用。随着更多州批准将大麻用于医疗目的，将医用大麻使用作为一种与健康相关的行为和风险因素进行追踪很重要。
