Adolescent health briefAdolescents' Use of Medical Marijuana: A Secondary Analysis of Monitoring the Future Data
Section snippets
Methods
In 2012 and 2013 MTF, questions were asked about medical marijuana on Form 1 with 12th graders, and these data were used for this study [10]. The total weighted sample size was 4,579 12th graders (2012: n = 2,367; 2013: n = 2,212). After respondents with missing data on past year marijuana use were excluded, the final weighted sample was 4,394 12th graders.
For the purposes of this study, the following four groups were created: (1) nonusers; (2) illicit users; (3) medical users; and (4) diverted
Results
We examined sample demographic characteristics and used binary logistic regression to compute adjusted odds ratios to determine risk of repeatedly using marijuana and using other types of substances among Groups 2–4.
Approximately, 1.1% of 12th graders indicated using medical marijuana from their own prescription during the past 12 months (Notably, 35% [n = 17] of these users also used from someone else's prescription). Six percent (6.1%) of the 12 graders indicated using medical marijuana from
Discussion
This study is the first to use national data drawing attention to adolescents' use of medical marijuana. These data indicate that the highest risk group is adolescents that use someone else's diverted medical marijuana, followed by medical marijuana users. To place these data in context, the diversion of medical marijuana was an uncommon activity, with only 4% of 12th graders reporting use from a diverted medical source. Our findings are in line with researchers who have reported little
Acknowledgments
The authors would like to thank the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Data Archive for providing access to these data. C.J.B. conceptualized and designed the study and discussed the study design with all coauthors. C.J.B. interpreted the data provided by P.T.V., drafted the initial article and all drafts of the article, and approved the final article as submitted. P.T.V. analyzed and interpreted the data, reviewed and revised the article, and approved the final article as submitted. S.E.M.
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Conflicts of Interest: The authors have no conflicts of interest or financial disclosures to report.
Disclaimer: The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institute on Drug Abuse or the National Institutes of Health.