Metrik Jane, Bassett Shayna S, Aston Elizabeth R, Jackson Kristina M, Borsari Brian
Providence VA Medical Center, Providence, RI, 02908, USA.
Center for Alcohol and Addiction Studies, Brown University School of Public Health, Providence, RI, 02903, USA.
Transl Issues Psychol Sci. 2018 Mar;4(1):6-20. doi: 10.1037/tps0000133.
Although increasing rates of cannabis use and cannabis use disorder (CUD) are well-documented among veterans, little is known about their use of cannabis specifically for medicinal purposes. The present study characterizes such use and compares veterans reporting cannabis use for medicinal ( = 66) versus recreational ( = 77) purposes on (a) sociodemographic factors, (b) psychiatric disorders (posttraumatic stress disorder [PTSD], major depressive disorder [MDD], and CUD), (c) other substance use, (d) reasons for cannabis use and cannabis-related problems, and (e) physical and mental health.
Participants were veterans deployed post 9/11/2001 recruited from a Veterans Health Administration (VHA) facility ( = 143; mean [] age = 30.0 [6.6]; mean [] deployments = 1.7 [1.1]) who reported past-year cannabis use.
The most frequently endorsed conditions for medicinal cannabis (MC) use were anxiety/stress, PTSD, pain, depression, and insomnia. In logistic regression analyses adjusted for frequency of cannabis use, MC users were significantly more likely ( = 3.16) to meet criteria for PTSD than recreational cannabis (RC) users. Relative to RC users, MC users reported significantly greater motivation for using cannabis to cope with sleep disturbance as well as significantly poorer sleep quality and worse physical health.
Veterans who use cannabis for medicinal purposes differ significantly in sleep, physical and mental health functioning than veterans who use cannabis for recreational purposes. PTSD and sleep problems may be especially relevant issues to address in screening and providing clinical care to returning veterans who are using cannabis for medicinal purposes.
尽管退伍军人中大麻使用及大麻使用障碍（CUD）的发生率不断上升已有充分记录，但对于他们专门出于医疗目的使用大麻的情况却知之甚少。本研究对这种使用情况进行了描述，并比较了报告出于医疗目的（n = 66）与娱乐目的（n = 77）使用大麻的退伍军人在以下方面的差异：（a）社会人口学因素；（b）精神障碍（创伤后应激障碍[PTSD]、重度抑郁症[MDD]和CUD）；（c）其他物质使用情况；（d）使用大麻的原因及与大麻相关的问题；（e）身心健康状况。
参与者为2001年9月11日后从退伍军人健康管理局（VHA）机构招募的退伍军人（n = 143；平均[M]年龄 = 30.0[6.6]；平均[M]部署次数 = 1.7[1.1]），他们报告在过去一年中使用过大麻。
医疗大麻（MC）使用最常被认可的情况是焦虑/压力、PTSD、疼痛、抑郁和失眠。在对大麻使用频率进行调整的逻辑回归分析中，MC使用者比娱乐性大麻（RC）使用者更有可能（OR = 3.16）符合PTSD标准。相对于RC使用者，MC使用者报告使用大麻来应对睡眠障碍的动机明显更强，睡眠质量明显更差，身体健康状况也更差。
出于医疗目的使用大麻的退伍军人在睡眠、身心健康功能方面与出于娱乐目的使用大麻的退伍军人有显著差异。在对出于医疗目的使用大麻的退伍军人进行筛查和提供临床护理时，PTSD和睡眠问题可能是特别需要关注的问题。
