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About 10% of Marijuana Users May Abuse the Drug and Need Treatment

DRUG USE, DRUG ABUSE

February 1993

About 10 percent of an estimated 80 million marijuana users in the United States may abuse the drug and be in need of therapeutic intervention, according to a recent summary by psychiatrist Tod Mikuriya, M.D. (Tod Mikuriya, "Cannabis Abuse and Treatment," Unpublished paper).

Mikuriya notes that inability to stop or moderate use, and impairment in social or occupational functioning, are hallmarks of abuse, as compared to use. And he notes that appropriate therapeutic intervention should involve treating the underlying cause of the drug abuse. In particular, said Mikuriya, "Cannabis misuse as a sole etiology for psychological dysfunction is probably uncommon."