Characteristics of medical marijuana dispensary patients

Introduction: Despite the rising availability and use of medical marijuana
(MM) in the U.S., little is known about the demographics, clinical
characteristics, or quality of life of MM patients. This study describes
the demographic characteristics and health-related quality of life (HRQoL)
of MM patients who are initiating treatment in Pennsylvania. Methods: Two
hundred adults naive to MM and referred for any of the 23 state-approved
qualifying conditions were recruited at three MM dispensaries in
Pennsylvania between September 2020 and March 2021. All participants
consented to the study, completed semi-structured interviews that included
demographic questionnaires, the Short Form-36 (SF-36), and Generalized
Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7), provided height and weight measurements, and
allowed access to their dispensary medical records. Results: Participants
had a mean age of 48.5 ±15.6 years, predominantly identified as female
(67.5 %), and were most commonly referred for chronic pain (63.5%) and/or
anxiety (58.5%). Additionally, 46.0% were living with obesity as
determined by Body Mass Index (BMI). Relative to a normative sample,
participants reported diminished HRQoL in several domains, most notably in
role limitations due to physical health (M = 46.0 ± 42.0), role
limitations due to emotional problems (M = 52.5 ± 42.3), energy and
fatigue (M = 39.8 ± 20.2), and pain (M = 49.4 ± 26.0).
Discussion/Conclusion: Patients initiating MM treatment experienced low
HRQoL in multiple domains. Future studies could evaluate the relationship
between HRQoL and patients’ decisions to pursue MM treatment, as well as
changes in HRQoL with MM use over time.