Characteristics of Medical vs. Recreational Marijuana Users in Denver, Colorado

Transcription

1 Characteristics of Medical vs. Recreational Marijuana Users in Denver, Colorado Robert E. Booth, Ph.D. Division of Substance Dependence, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Denver, CO Supported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse RO1 DA031816

2 Marijuana Key Events 2000 Colorado voters approved legal use of marijuana for medical purposes 2009 January: 495 applications December: 10,585 applications and an explosion in the number of Medical Marijuana Centers (MMC) 2011 August: the grant begins 2012 November: Colorado voters pass Amendment 64, 55% to 45%, legalizing recreational use of marijuana 2014 Recreational marijuana retail stores officially open January 1

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11 Top Cities/Areas for Retail Marijuana Stores as of June 1, 2015 Cities/Areas Number of Retail Stores Percent of Total City/County of Denver Rest of Denver Metro Area Front Range Outside Denver Metro Area Western Slope TOTAL ALL CITIES Top Cities/Areas for Retail Marijuana Cultivation Facilities as of June 1, 2015 Cities/ Number Retail Percent of Total Cultivation Facilities City/County of Denver Rest of Denver Metro Area Front Range Outside Denver Metro Area Western Slope TOTAL ALL CITIES

12 Top Cities/Areas for Retail Marijuana Product Manufacturing Facilities as of June 1, 2015 Cities/ Number Retail Percent of Total Cultivation Facilities City/County of Denver Rest of Denver Metro Area Front Range Outside Denver Metro Area Western Slope TOTAL ALL CITIES

13 Colorado Medical Marijuana Centers (MMCs): Denver Metro Area Compared to Outside Metro Area* by License Type** (as of June 1, 2015) License Type Denver Metro N Denver Metro Percent of Statewide MM Centers Outside Denver N Outside Denver Percent of Statewide MM Centers Total MM Centers in Colorado Type Type Type Total Source: Colorado Department of Revenue: Medical Marijuana Enforcement *Metro Area includes the following nine counties: Adams, Arapahoe, Boulder, Broomfield, Clear Creek, Denver, Douglas, Gilpin and Jefferson **License Types: Type 1 Centers are those with 1 to 300 Primary Patients Type 2 Centers are those with 301 to 500 Primary Patients Type 3 Centers are those with 501 and above Primary Patients This excludes Infused Product Manufacturing Licenses

14 Survey Findings with Medical Marijuana Patients (N= 183) and Recreational Marijuana Users (N=318)

15 Recruitment Methods Craigslist, Facebook, University of Colorado webserve listings Advertising in Westwood, a free community newspaper Flyers posted at dispensaries and recreational marijuana shops Street outreach; outreach at Denver s 4/20 marijuana festival Paid referrals

16 Registered vs. Recreational User Comparison Users with Medical Registration (N = 183) Recreational Users (N=318) Test Statistic p-value Sex Male X df = 1 Female 68.9% 31.1% 71.1% 28.9% Age (mean) t- Test = df = 1 and 498 Ethnicity X 2 = df = 1 Minority (i.e. not Caucasian) 43.5% 63.9% Caucasian 56.5% 36.1% Education X 2 = 16.8 df = 2 Less than High School 8.8% 25.7% High School Grad or 28.6% 40.0% equivalent All College combined 62.6% 34.3% <0.000 <0.000 Note: Significant effects are highlighted in blue; statistics refer to whether there were differences in registered vs. recreational MJ users on each variable

17 Registered vs. Recreational User Comparison, cont. Users with Medical Registration (N = 183) Recreational Users (N=318) Test Statistic p-value Employment Status X 2 = df = 3 Full-time or Regular Hours 28.6% 17.5% Part-time, Irregular Hours or 18.1% 15.9% Seasonal Unemployed 18.1% 41.3% Retired/Disabled 35.2% 25.4% Net Income $ $ t- Test = df = 1 and 338 Days paid last 30 (mean) t- Test = df = 1 and 404 <0.000 <

18 Age and Years of Marijuana Use (N = 495)

19 Marijuana Use Last 30 Days (N = 495)

20 Primary Reason for Using Marijuana

21 Marijuana as Aid to quit Other Drug Use (N = 497)

22 Alcohol and Drug Use (N = 497)

23 UA and Self-report Results (N = 497)

24 UA and Self-report Results, cont. (N = 497)

25 Driving Under the Influence of Marijuana

26 Marijuana Use & Sex (N = 495)

27 Marijuana Use & Sex, cont. (N = 495)

28 Improvement in Health due to MJ Use (N = 496)

29 Life with Marijuana (N = 496) The (*) indicates a significant difference between registered and recreational users.

30 Life with Marijuana, cont. (N = 496)

31 Colorado hospital discharges coded as dependence and abuse over time Abuse 1% per month increase p<0.01 Dependence 0.8% per month increase p<0.01

32 Denver marijuana treatment admissions and arrests over time { Significant (p<0.001) decreases after 2009

33 Conclusions Compared to recreational users, medical marijuana users were better educated, more likely to be employed or retired/disabled, with greater income There was little difference in age or years used, but medical users used more days in the past 30 and more times per day than recreational users The most common reason for using marijuana, especially for medical users, was severe pain and insomnia Both recreational and medical users reported marijuana use as an aid to quit illicit drug use, especially prescription opiates by medical users Recreational users drank alcohol more often and were more likely to report illicit drug use; still, 26% of medical users reported illicit drug use Recreational users were more likely to test positive and report cocaine and methamphetamine use while medical users were more likely to test positive for opiate use

34 Conclusions Over 70% of both medical and recreational users had driven a car while high and 56% of medical users had driven within 3 hours of marijuana use More than 90% of both types of users reported sex under the influence of marijuana, however, medical users had sex more often while using Over 60% of both medical and recreational users indicated increased sexual desire and intensity due to marijuana; increased potency was reported slightly more often by recreational users Improved mental and physical health due to marijuana use was reported by 82% and 78% of medical users and by 72% and 56% of recreational users, respectively In general, recreational users had more problems with marijuana than medical users, including spending less time with work, school & children, neglecting obligations, trying to quit, able to keep limits, and loss of motivation

35 Contributors: Jonathan M. Davis, Ph.D. Karen F. Corsi, ScD, M.P.H. Bruce D. Mendelson, M.P.A. Janet Spradley, M.S.W. Project Safe staff Supported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse R01 DA031816