Abstract
BackgroundCannabis is commonly used for its medical properties. In particular, cannabis is purported to have beneficial effects on a wide range of neuropsychiatric conditions. Studies assessing mental health in cannabis dispensary users typically evaluate symptoms using self-report check lists, which provide limited information about symptom severity, and whether subjects meet criteria for a psychiatric diagnosis. There is, therefore, a need for studies which assess mental health in dispensary users with standardized and well validated scientific instruments, such as those used in clinical drug trials.MethodsOne hundred medical cannabis users were recruited from a community dispensary. All subjects completed a structured clinical interview with the Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI). Subjects also completed the Perceived Stress Scale-10, PROMIS Fatigue Scale, PROMIS Sleep Disturbance Scale, Beck Depression Inventory, the Patient Health Questionnaire-15 and the Brief Pain Inventory. Details about cannabis use were also recorded.ResultsLifetime prevalence of mental illness in this cohort was high, and a large proportion of subjects endorsed psychological symptoms. The proportion of subjects who met criteria for classification of a current psychiatric disorder was low for mood disorders, but high for anxiety disorders and substance abuse/dependence. Cannabis use differed between the main psychiatric conditions.ConclusionsThe present results indicate that rates of mental illness may be high in medical cannabis dispensary users. Use of structured clinical assessments combined with standardized symptom severity questionnaires provide a feasible way to provide a more rigorous and detailed evaluation of conditions and symptoms in this population.
Highlights
Cannabis is commonly used for its medical properties
In summary, the findings of the current study indicate that both lifetime and current psychiatric illness occur with a high prevalence in medical cannabis users
Distressful psychological symptoms were endorsed by a large proportion of the population, these may often be of a lower intensity than needed for a psychiatric diagnosis
Summary
Cannabis is commonly used for its medical properties. In particular, cannabis is purported to have beneficial effects on a wide range of neuropsychiatric conditions. Studies assessing mental health in cannabis dispensary users typically evaluate symptoms using self-report check lists, which provide limited information about symptom severity, and whether subjects meet criteria for a psychiatric diagnosis. Recent studies have conducted self-report surveys with this population to better understand the specific conditions and symptoms that are being targeted by medical cannabis users. These studies have been invaluable in furthering our understanding of medical cannabis use in the general population, and have reinforced the point that the majority of medical cannabis users consume the product for neuropsychiatric conditions [16,17,18]. Self-report check-list surveys typically provide limited granularity of mental health symptoms, and symptom severity is rarely quantified
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