Drexel University –  Receives NIH Grant in a 5-years Study of Medicinal Marijuana

Drexel University Receives NIH Grant to Study Medical Marijuana Use Among LA Young AdultsDrexel University has been granted and received the allowability in a 5-years study which regards to the study of marijuana medicinal plant and in the impacts of the usage and the psychological and physical health among adults and young adults who lived in Los Angeles. It is the first large-scale NIH project funded to directly investigate medical marijuana use among young adults aged 18 to 26.

Dr. Stephen Lankenau, the associate professor in Drexel University School of Public Health is being awarded by the National Institutes of Health for $3.3 million over five years as the RO1 beginning July 1. He also led the study of “Medical Marijuana, Emerging Adults & Community: Connecting Health and Policy.”

Lankenau goals and aims:

• Determining medical marijuana in which impacts into the policies in Los Angeles
• To study more and more the proper usage of such marijuana and the beneficiary on young adults’ in psychological and physical health
• The influence of dispensaries and the significance will be then have the core focus in understanding
• storefronts that sell medical marijuana – on health.
• the study’s findings can guide medical marijuana policies at local, state and national levels to result in the most positive health outcomes for young adults and communities

The study emerged out of preliminary findings from an earlier NIH-funded project, which examined non-medical prescription drug use among high-risk young adults in two cities. Among Los Angeles participants, Lankenau observed key differences in patterns of drug use and health between those who had a physician recommendation for medical marijuana, and those who used marijuana without a recommendation.

Guided by these findings, his new study has three specific aims:

1. Determining medical marijuana patient status in its basis and the impact on trajectories of physical and psychological health among emerging adults.
2. Determining medical marijuana patient status which had impacts on the patterns of drug use among emerging adults, including intensity of marijuana use and misuse of alcohol, prescription drugs and illicit drugs.
3. Describing the norms, cultures and natural history of medical marijuana use in Los Angeles among non-medical users and medical marijuana patients.

The recruitment of these people to study the said plant plays the major role in the industry because the people who had gone lots of consequences in their life really keeps on talking about the negatives and positives about this.

When marijuana medical plant first became legal in California in 1996 in which the young adults were not norm. Only adults who have a chronic conditions or seeking palliative care were just allowed and have a physician prescription in using marijuana as their medicine. But including conditions such as anxiety and insomnia had the received a lots of email recommendation in curing certain sickness. It almost reach 200 a day.

California is one of the 18 states which legalized the use of medical marijuana under the their state law. They govern the usage of plant that they see the good advantages about these plant. Indeed it is also true because lots of people proved it and maintains using it.

Lankenau and co-investigator Ellen Iverson at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles will enroll a diverse set of participants this fall and expect to complete baseline interviews and surveys by early 2014. Lankenau’s study will be recruiting (380) young non-medical marijuana users and young medical marijuana patients in natural settings and will use qualitative and quantitative methods. Participants will then complete annual follow-up interviews for three years.

In addition to broadly characterizing the role medical and non-medical use of marijuana has in the lives of young adults, Lankenau is also interested in specific aspects of the relationship between drug policy, drug usage and health in this population. Some of the relevant issues include: how the “gateway” concept applies to young medical marijuana patients; the basis for medical marijuana recommendations among young adults in Los Angeles, including the role of criminal justice issues; and the influence of medical marijuana on patterns of use among young non-medical users, including the problem of drug diversion.