Cannabis self-medication: a solution that may create problems

(Image: Pixabay CC0) - Even if the evidence of the effectiveness of cannabis is still very scarce, Quebecers are self-prescribing products from this plant for health problems ranging from pain to shyness Anxiety, depression, insomnia, shyness, migraines, muscle spasms, pain, loss of appetite, loss of libido. These are some of the health problems for which Quebecers self-prescribe cannabis, even though no reliable scientific study has yet demonstrated its effectiveness for these uses. These observations come from a study that a team from the Faculty of Pharmacy of Laval University and the Centre de recherche du CHU de Québec-Université Laval has just published in the Journal of Cannabis Research . This is the first study in Quebec to provide a detailed picture of self-medication with cannabis since it became available.It is the first study in Quebec to provide a detailed picture of self-medication with cannabis since it became available without medical authorization in Canada," says Professor Arsène Zongo, who led the team. The researchers conducted an online survey of 489 people who used cannabis, purchased from the Société québécoise du cannabis, to treat a health problem or problems. All were self-medicating and not prescribed by a health care professional. Here are the main findings of the study: the most commonly cited reasons for self-prescribing cannabis were anxiety (70%), insomnia (56%), pain (53%) and depression (37%); the number of health problems ranged from 1 to 13, but most respondents (66%) reported between 2 and 5 health problems 45% of respondents used cannabis daily; 74% had been self-medicating with cannabis for over a year; 56% of respondents were also taking prescription medication.