HomeCannabis MedicineMedical Cannabis Use Among Canadian Veterans and Non-Veterans: A National Survey

Medical Cannabis Use Among Canadian Veterans and Non-Veterans: A National Survey

November 3, 2023

Integr Med Rep. 2023 Oct 12;2(1):120-128. doi: 10.1089/imr.2023.0022. eCollection 2023.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Medical cannabis (MC) is used by Canadian Veterans to manage a wide range of health issues. However, there is little information comparing the reasons for MC use and its perceived effectiveness between Veterans and non-Veterans.

OBJECTS: We compared MC use among a convenience sample of Canadian Veterans and with non-Veteran controls, including demographics, reasons and patterns of use, and perceived effectiveness.

METHODS: Between November and December 2021, Canadian Veterans using cannabis were invited to participate in a survey using a national press release, social media, and announcements on online platform dedicated to promoting health among Canadian Veterans and non-Veterans during the pandemic (www.MissionVav.com). The survey was also mentioned in a monthly newsletter from Veteran Affairs Canada. Self-reported effectiveness was evaluated using a 0 to 10 visual analogue scale (0 being not all effective, 10 being the most effective).

RESULTS: The survey was completed by 157 people, including 108 (69%) males and 49 (31%) females. The mean age was 57 years (range 19 to 84). Among responders, 90 (63%) identified as Veterans. The most common reasons for MC use among Veterans included: insomnia (80%), anxiety (73%), and depression (52%). Veterans reported medical conditions such as chronic pain (88%) and arthritis (51%). Compared with non-Veterans, Veterans were significantly more likely to be male (83% vs. 49%), have a higher BMI (35.2 vs. 30.9), to report problems with sleep, anxiety, depression, and PTSD, and to use cannabis in edible form (51% vs. 22%). Self-reported mean effectiveness scores for MC were highest for PTSD (8.4), insomnia (8.2), anxiety (8.1), depression (8.0), and chronic pain (7.6).

CONCLUSIONS: We found important differences in user characteristics and cannabis use patterns between Canadian Veterans and non-Veterans. Further controlled studies are required to validate these findings, but these data suggest that orally administered cannabis products may be worth further study.

PMID:37920683 | PMC:PMC10619467 | DOI:10.1089/imr.2023.0022

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About The Author

Patrick Blanchard MD

Meet Dr. Blanchard Dr. Blanchard’s medical practice is an embodiment of Integrative health which brings conventional and complementary approaches together in a coordinated way. Conveniently located in sunny Florida and over the internet with ValiseMD’s secure HIPPA compliant telXmed servers. Since 1994, patients with a wide range of challenging medical problems have achieved optimum health using the best of natural medicine, judiciously combined with high-tech innovations. Breakthroughs are often achieved even after patients have consulted mainstream specialists and holistic practitioners. Dr. Blanchard is founder and CEO of ValiseMD, Inc. He is board certified in Family Medicine since 1994 and awarded Fellow of the American Academy of Family Physicians in 2001. He received the ‘Teacher of the Year’ award from the University of Kansas School of Medicine at completion of his residency in Family Medicine. He completed a fellowship at Wake Forest University in the field of vascular neurosonology. He holds a medical patent in the field of Gastroenterology. He holds an unrestricted license to practice medicine and surgery in Florida. He started his medical career as a Emergency Medical Technician, then as a Paramedic and later a Medical Doctor.