{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,31]],"date-time":"2026-07-31T09:58:08Z","timestamp":1785491888746,"version":"3.56.0"},"reference-count":40,"publisher":"Cambridge University Press (CUP)","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,31]],"date-time":"2026-07-31T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1785456000000},"content-version":"unspecified","delay-in-days":211,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/100014013","name":"UK Research and Innovation","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["MR\/Y017560\/1"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["MR\/Y017560\/1"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/100014013","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/100014660","name":"Society for the Study of Addiction","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","id":[{"id":"10.13039\/100014660","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100000024","name":"Canadian Institutes of Health Research","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["PJT-153342"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["PJT-153342"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100000024","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":["cambridge.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Psychol. Med."],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026]]},"abstract":"<jats:title>Abstract<\/jats:title>\n                  <jats:sec id=\"S0033291726105327_sec1\">\n                    <jats:title>Background<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>The United Kingdom legalized medical cannabis in 2018, yet little is known about people using cannabis medically with and without a prescription. This study aimed to estimate: 1) the percentage of people reporting using cannabis medically with and without a prescription; 2) the sources; 3) products used; and 4) associations between frequent product use and medical cannabis status.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec id=\"S0033291726105327_sec2\" sec-type=\"methods\">\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      Data were from national repeat cross-sectional surveys conducted in 2023 and 2024. UK participants were aged 16\u201365 who used cannabis in the past 12\u00a0months (\n                      <jats:italic>n<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u00a0=\u00a04,414). Multivariable regression analyses estimated associations between outcomes and medical cannabis status.\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec id=\"S0033291726105327_sec3\" sec-type=\"results\">\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Overall, 12.9% of respondents reported receiving a medical cannabis prescription, 35.9% reported medical use without a prescription, and 51.2% reported no medical use. Cannabis was sourced through diverse routes; only 10.9% of people with prescriptions obtained all their cannabis from a prescription. Respondents with a prescription had a higher probability of reporting frequent use of drops, capsules, vape oils, edibles, drinks, solid concentrates, hash\/kief, and topicals (aRRs\u00a0=\u00a0range between 1.82 and 3.51)) and a higher probability of screening positive for high-risk use (aRR\u00a0=\u00a03.09; 2.51\u20133.79) than respondents who did not use medically.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec id=\"S0033291726105327_sec4\" sec-type=\"conclusions\">\n                    <jats:title>Conclusions<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>People with medical cannabis prescriptions show a higher probability of frequent use of processed products and of meeting a threshold for high-risk use. Healthcare encounters during medical cannabis prescribing should discuss risks related to products, potency, and adverse effects such as cannabis use disorder.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1017\/s0033291726105327","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,31]],"date-time":"2026-07-31T09:07:51Z","timestamp":1785488871000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1017\/policypage","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["The use of cannabis for medical reasons in the UK: Prescriptions, sources, products, and high-risk use"],"prefix":"10.1017","volume":"56","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-0797-8493","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Elle","family":"Wadsworth","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/002h8g185","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}],"name":"University of Bath"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"David","family":"Hammond","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/01aff2v68","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}],"name":"University of Waterloo"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5667-507X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Tom P.","family":"Freeman","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/002h8g185","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}],"name":"University of Bath"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"56","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,31]]},"reference":[{"key":"S0033291726105327_r10","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1186\/s42238-022-00165-6"},{"key":"S0033291726105327_r2","unstructured":"Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs. (2025). Cannabis-based products for medicinal use: call for evidence. Retrieved 13 Nov 2025 from https:\/\/www.gov.uk\/government\/calls-for-evidence\/cannabis-based-products-for-medicinal-use\/cannabis-based-products-for-medicinal-use-call-for-evidence"},{"key":"S0033291726105327_r18","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1111\/add.70117"},{"key":"S0033291726105327_r25","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.socscimed.2019.06.005"},{"key":"S0033291726105327_r19","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1136\/bmj.h1205"},{"key":"S0033291726105327_r37","unstructured":"UK Parliament. (2023). Cannabis: Medical Treatments (Question for Department of Health and Social Care). https:\/\/questions-statements.parliament.uk\/written-questions\/detail\/2023-01-06\/117459"},{"key":"S0033291726105327_r8","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1017\/S0033291719002460"},{"key":"S0033291726105327_r4","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jflm.2025.102947"},{"key":"S0033291726105327_r32","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1001\/jama.2018.6971"},{"key":"S0033291726105327_r16","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1136\/bmj.l5871"},{"key":"S0033291726105327_r35","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/S2215-0366(22)00161-4"},{"key":"S0033291726105327_r1","unstructured":"Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs. (2020). Cannabis-based products for medicinal use (CBPMs) in humans. 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