POT STILL MOSTLY FOR FUN

About 7% of Ontario adults use marijuana but only a few use it for
medical reasons, a new survey shows.

A telephone survey of Ontarians 18 years and older asked how many had
used marijuana in the previous year and how many had done so for
medical purposes.

It found 49 of 2,527 people surveyed (1.9%) had used pot in the
previous year for a medical condition, while 173 (6.8%) had used it
mostly for recreation.

"We were surprised the number had been as high as it was. This was the
first study anywhere to find out how many people out there are using
marijuana for medical reasons," said Dr. Reginald Smart of the Centre
for Addiction and Mental Health. Marijuana is used by patients to
alleviate cancer pain, reduce nausea caused by chemotherapy or
mitigate the wasting syndrome of AIDS.

The research -- in the Canadian Medical Association Journal -- found
that, compared with non-users, those who used marijuana for any reason
tended to be younger, more likely to have alcohol problems and more
likely to have used cocaine.