title: Marijuana use and epilepsy: prevalence in patients of a tertiary care epilepsy center.
abstract: The authors sought to determine the prevalence of marijuana use in patients with epilepsy by performing a telephone survey in a tertiary care epilepsy center. Twenty-one percent of subjects had used marijuana in the past year with the majority of active users reporting beneficial effects on seizures. Twenty-four percent of all subjects believed marijuana was an effective therapy for epilepsy. Despite limited evidence of efficacy, many patients with epilepsy believe marijuana is an effective therapy for epilepsy and are actively using it.
authors.affiliation: University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. donald.gross@ualberta.ca
authors.forename: D W
authors.initials: DW
authors.lastname: Gross
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hamm
authors.forename: N L
authors.initials: NL
authors.lastname: Ashworth
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Quigley
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000416:Alberta / Q000453:epidemiology; D000927:Anticonvulsants / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002188:Cannabis / Q000009:adverse effects; D003469:Culture; D004363:Drug Utilization / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D004827:Epilepsy / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys; D006782:Hospitals, Special / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D002189:Marijuana Abuse / Q000453:epidemiology; D010361:Patients / Q000523:psychology; D008517:Phytotherapy / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D028321:Plant Preparations / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*
chemical_list: D000927:Anticonvulsants; D028321:Plant Preparations