Polls consistently show the vast majority of Americans support allowing seriously ill patients to use cannabis for medical purposes with their doctors’ approval. Because Congress and the DEA have failed to make medical cannabis legal — despite ample evidence of its safety and efficacy — states have enacted their own laws to protect patients. Thirty-eight states and Washington, D.C. now have workable medical cannabis laws on the books. Eleven additional states have laws on the books that acknowledge the medical value of medical cannabis but fall short.
Below you will find a wealth of materials to educate you about medical cannabis issues, including information to make the case for allowing medical cannabis — such as summaries of studies, lists of supportive organizations, state-by-state polling, and rebuttals to common concerns. You will also find summaries of various aspects of both comprehensive laws and low-THC laws, financial information for medical cannabis states, and information on the federal government’s current policy toward both state and federal cannabis laws.
Note: Most of these materials have not been updated yet to reflect that Kentucky became the 38th medical cannabis state in late March 2023. A few also do not yet include updates for the 37th state, Mississippi.