Patterns of Marijuana Use in a 6-Month Pain Management Sample in the United States

• Main Authors: Hope M Smiley-McDonald, Katherine N Moore, David C Heller, Jeri D Ropero-Miller, Gregory L McIntire, Frank N Wallace
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: SAGE Publishing 2017-08-01
• Series: Substance Abuse: Research and Treatment
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1177/1178221817724783

This study is a 6-month retrospective analysis of urine drug testing (UDT) data from a pain management population among specimens with clinician-ordered marijuana testing (N = 194 809). Descriptive statistics about the specimen positivity of clinician-ordered marijuana UDT are provided as well as other drug positivity. Specimens from men and adults aged 18 to 34 years had the highest prevalence rates of marijuana positivity. The prevalence of past-month marijuana use among a comparative national population was lower than the prevalence of positive marijuana tests in the UDT specimens by all characteristics. Among the specimens tested for illicit drugs and marijuana, 4.0% were positive for amphetamine, 2.8% were positive for cocaine, and 0.9% were positive for heroin. The most common prescription drugs listed were opioids (64.7%), benzodiazepines (20.5%), and antidepressants (19.9%). In sum, the findings reflect previous research showing high rates of marijuana use, illicit drug use, and prescription drug use in a pain management population.