Teens and marijuana self-medication

My inbox has been bombarded with stories based on this study. The qualitative study consisted of 20 (Yes, 20.) kids who were a subset of 63 and their reported reasons for smoking pot. These 20 were a subset of 63 pot smoking kids participating in a larger study. A quick read of the study reveals that the authors uncritically accept the premise that marijuana is an effective treatment for a myriad of problems and their citations reflect a bias for self-medication theories. The study looks like a conclusion in search of evidence. The reported reasons for use of marijuana by these kids included depression (6), stress/anxiety (12), sleep problems (9), focus/concentration (3) and physical pain (5). There was no confirmation of any prior diagnosis or treatment and no assessment and diagnosis as part of the study.

That a qualitative study of a subset of 20 kids has gotten so much attention and led to headlines like, " Teens Use Pot to Treat Health Problems", " Some teens smoke pot for medical needs", " Herbal Remedy: Teens Often Use Cannabis For Relief, Not Recreation, Study Finds" and " Some teens smoke pot for their health" is ridiculous. Of course, this will influence the assumptions of researchers and clinicians and yield more of the same.