Indopedia All Things Marijuana
A new study finds that marijuana use is rising among cancer patients in a state with legalized medical access.
Findings published online in CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society, show that nearly one quarter of patients surveyed used cannabis in the past year to treat various symptoms.
Experts from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center surveyed 926 patients from the Seattle Cancer Center Alliance and found that 24 percent used marijuana in the last year, while 21 percent reported using it in the past month. Patients who consumed pot did so primarily for physical symptoms such as pain and nausea, or to cope with stress, depression, or insomnia.
The team also found 75 percent of those surveyed reported a strong interest in learning more about using cannabis during treatment, revealing that legalization has increased the interest as well as likelihood for use among patients.
“Cancer patients desire but are not receiving information from their cancer doctors about marijuana use during their treatment, so many of them are seeking information from alternate non-scientific sources,” said lead…
