By the Numbers: 25 October 2021
18.7%
The percentage of "Veterans Health Administration (VHA) primary care patients" in states with "legalized medical cannabis" who "endorsed past-year cannabis use," according to a study published online ahead of print in the journal Psychology of Addictive Behaviors -- Prevalence of medical and nonmedical cannabis use among veterans in primary care.
Correlates of any past-year use included younger age, period of service, being unmarried, lower education, lower income, other substance use, meeting criteria for an alcohol or drug use disorder or posttraumatic stress disorder, higher pain rating, and lower self-reported well-being. Compared to veterans endorsing only recreational use, veterans endorsing only medical use reported more cannabis use days but had lower odds of other drug use, alcohol or drug-related problems, or alcohol or drug use disorders. Differences between recreational only users and those using medical and recreational cannabis were minimal.
18.7%
The percentage of "Veterans Health Administration (VHA) primary care patients" in states with "legalized medical cannabis" who "endorsed past-year cannabis use," according to a study published online ahead of print in the journal Psychology of Addictive Behaviors -- Prevalence of medical and nonmedical cannabis use among veterans in primary care.
Correlates of any past-year use included younger age, period of service, being unmarried, lower education, lower income, other substance use, meeting criteria for an alcohol or drug use disorder or posttraumatic stress disorder, higher pain rating, and lower self-reported well-being. Compared to veterans endorsing only recreational use, veterans endorsing only medical use reported more cannabis use days but had lower odds of other drug use, alcohol or drug-related problems, or alcohol or drug use disorders. Differences between recreational only users and those using medical and recreational cannabis were minimal.