SOME B.C. TEENS TAKE MARIJUANA FOR PAIN AND ANXIETY, STUDY FINDS

'They Weren't Smoking To Get High But . . . Because They Needed To'

Not all teenagers smoke marijuana with the goal of getting high. A
new study by researchers at the University of B.C. found some teens
use marijuana to relieve or manage health problems when other
therapies have not worked.

The study, led by UBC Okanagan professor Joan Bottorff, involved
in-depth interviews with 63 teenagers who use marijuana. Of those, 20
said they use the drug to manage health problems such as depression,
anxiety, difficulty sleeping or pain.

"They were very clear they weren't smoking to get high, but they were
really smoking marijuana because they needed to," Bottorff said
Thursday in an interview. "They talked about how they didn't smoke
too much. They tried to adjust their dosage so they just smoked
enough to deal with their symptoms. And the majority usually smoked
by themselves."

Many of the teens had tried conventional treatments for their health
problems, but said the medication didn't work or they didn't like the
side-effects. Those who reported sleeping difficulties said they had
talked to a doctor about it, but had not been prescribed any
medication because of their age.

"One young woman said she hadn't slept in four years," Bottorff said.

One of the young men had been diagnosed with attention-deficit
hyperactivity disorder --also known as ADHD -- but said the
medication he'd been given hadn't worked.

"He decided he didn't want to take [the ADHD drugs] any more and
actually found that marijuana really helped him focus, do his school
work, and really be successful in school."

All of the 63 teens in the study used marijuana regularly, ranging in
frequency from every day to twice a month. They were between the ages
of 13 and 18 and were from three communities in B.C.

Bottorff said the study illustrates the need for health-care
providers to pay special attention to the health needs of adolescents.

"We are not advocating medical marijuana for adolescents," Bottorff
said. "But what we think the study points to is the need to really
take the health concerns of adolescents seriously and to really try
and do a better job of trying to deal with them."

She noted that while those in the study turned to marijuana to
alleviate their symptoms, kids in other communities might be turning
to other substances, such as alcohol, crystal meth, cocaine or other drugs.

"This study showed us that there are some kids out there with
difficult health problems that they're having trouble dealing with,
and they're not getting a lot of help -- either from their family
members, or from the health-care providers that they see," Bottorff said.

The study, funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, was
published Thursday in BioMed Central's open access journal Substance
Abuse, Treatment, Prevention and Policy.