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Research studies medical marijuana use

MONTREAL, March 17 (UPI) -- A Canadian study of those who use marijuana for medical reasons in Britain found 16 percent do so on the advice of their doctors.

Results of the McGill University survey is published in the March issue of IJCP, the International Journal of Clinical Practice.

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The study said of the 947 people surveyed in Britain, more than a third (35 percent) said they used marijuana six or seven days a week. The majority (68 percent) said marijuana considerably eased their symptoms.

"The results of our UK survey, including the extent of use and reported effects, lend support to the further development of safe and effective medicines based on cannabis," said lead author Dr. Mark Ware.

People with chronic pain were most likely to use cannabis for medicinal purposes (25 percent) followed by patients with multiple sclerosis (22 percent), depression (22 percent) arthritis (21 percent) and neuropathy (19 percent).

Younger people, males and those who smoked marijuana recreationally were also more likely to use it for medicinal reasons, the study found.

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