The University of Washington Addictions, Drug, and Alcohol Institute (UW ADAI), formerly the Alcohol & Drug Abuse Institute, is a multidisciplinary research institute at the University of Washington. UW established ADAI in October 1973 as a research institute for alcohol and drug use research at the university and in the northwest region. Grants and contracts from federal and state agencies and private foundations provide the majority of the Institute’s funding, which includes appropriations from the state’s Dedicated Marijuana Account.
Nearly 44 million people use cannabis in the past year, and of those, 21% use cannabis daily. Frequent cannabis use increases risk of developing a cannabis use disorder (CUD), a problematic pattern of cannabis use leading to clinically significant impairment and distress. Primary care providers are ideally positioned to identify cannabis use and use disorders, provide brief interventions, and guide patients to treatment. However, CUD is under-recognized and undertreated in primary care settings. One key barrier is a lack of validated screening and assessment tools that are feasible and appropriate to use in primary care. This presentation will address the need for validated cannabis measures that perform equally well across sociodemographic subgroups and describe potential bias in current diagnosing and treatment practices.
from the event website
Presenter
- Tessa Matson, University of Washington (UW) School of Public Health
