Troutt William D, DiDonato Matthew D
a Medical Marijuana Research Institute , Mesa , AZ.
J Psychoactive Drugs. 2015 Sep-Oct;47(4):259-66. doi: 10.1080/02791072.2015.1074766. Epub 2015 Aug 28.
Many advances have been made toward understanding the benefits of medical cannabis. However, less is known about medical cannabis patients themselves. Prior research has uncovered many important patient characteristics, but most of that work has been conducted with participants in California, who may not represent medical cannabis patients throughout the United States. Furthermore, it is unknown if medical cannabis legalization, which typically imposes strict regulations on cannabis cultivation and sale, impacts patients' experiences acquiring and using cannabis. The goal of this study was to address these limitations by (1) examining the characteristics, perceptions, and behaviors of medical cannabis patients in Arizona; and (2) questioning participants with a history of cannabis use regarding their experiences with cannabis before and after legalization. Patients in Arizona share many characteristics with those in California, but also key differences, such as average age and degree of cannabis consumption. Participants also had positive perceptions of the effect of medical cannabis legalization, reporting that feelings of safety and awareness were higher after legalization compared to before. The results are discussed in relation to evidence from patients in other states and in terms of their potential policy implications.
在了解医用大麻的益处方面已经取得了许多进展。然而，对于医用大麻患者本身的了解却较少。先前的研究已经揭示了许多重要的患者特征，但大部分研究是在加利福尼亚州的参与者中进行的，他们可能并不代表全美国的医用大麻患者。此外，尚不清楚通常对大麻种植和销售实施严格监管的医用大麻合法化是否会影响患者获取和使用大麻的体验。本研究的目的是通过以下方式解决这些局限性：（1）研究亚利桑那州医用大麻患者的特征、认知和行为；（2）询问有大麻使用史的参与者在大麻合法化前后的大麻使用体验。亚利桑那州的患者与加利福尼亚州的患者有许多共同特征，但也存在关键差异，如平均年龄和大麻消费程度。参与者对医用大麻合法化的效果也有积极的认知，报告称合法化后与之前相比，安全感和认知度更高。将结合其他州患者的证据以及这些结果的潜在政策影响进行讨论。
