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The Article in Brief
Recreational Drug Use Among Primary Care Patients: Implications of a Positive Self-Report
Judith Bernstein , and colleagues
Background This study set out to determine if recreational drug use raises clinical concerns.
What This Study Found Weekend-only drug use frequently progresses into daily use and warrants continued monitoring in primary care. Among 529 adult primary care patients who screened positive for drug use, 483 patients (11 percent) reported using drugs only on weekends while 431 (89 percent) reported using drugs at other times as well. Of those initially reporting weekend-only use, only 10 (19 percent) retained the weekend-only pattern six months later; 28 (54 percent) started using drugs on other days of the week and 14 (27 percent) reported abstinence.
Implications
- These findings, the authors conclude, support the importance of periodic monitoring of "recreational" drug use.