Medical cannabis use among adolescents: A comparative analysis

Background: It is not known how many 11th graders in Oregon use diverted medical cannabis or how these medical cannabis users compare to their peers in terms of attitudes about and usage of cannabis. Methods: The Oregon Student Wellness Survey, a biennial research-based survey that assesses school climate and behavioral health risks among Oregonian youth, offers a unique opportunity to explore the relationship between medical cannabis use and cannabis-related attitudes among 11th graders in Oregon (n≈17,000). Descriptive statistics, chi-squared tests, and t-tests will be used to explore characteristics of eleventh graders in Oregon who obtained cannabis from a licensed medical cannabis cardholder of caregiver. Multiple logistic regression equations will be used to compare three groups of students—those who obtain cannabis from a licensed medical cannabis cardholder or caregiver, those who obtain cannabis from another source, and those who do not smoke cannabis—in terms of perceived availability and riskiness of cannabis, attitudes regarding cannabis, and cannabis usage rates. Results: forthcoming Conclusions: Fourteen years after the Oregon Medical Marijuana Act was passed into law, the number of medical cannabis cardholders in Oregon has significantly increased approximately 143 fold from 600 individuals in 1999 to 85,506 individuals in 2012 (56,939 cardholders and 28,567 registered caregivers). Despite the extant research in this field, only a few studies have explored diverted medical cannabis use among teens. Such studies have important policy implications because they have the ability to inform and influence state and federal legislation in terms of medical cannabis regulation.