12 states have laws pertaining to low-THC, high-CBD
0 states have repealed effective medical cannabis
In total, 49 states acknowledge the medical benefits of cannabis
Medical Cannabis and Opioids
64% decrease in opioid use among chronic pain patients in Michigan who used medical cannabis.[1]
1,826 fewer doses of painkillers on average per year, per state, for patients participating in Medicare Part D.[2]
More than 16,000 Americans die of overdoses on prescription opioids every year.[3]
0 people have died from cannabis overdoses in all of recorded history.
Number of Patients
20% of prescriptions are “off label” — prescribed for a condition for which they are not FDA-approved.[4]
Less than 2% of a state’s population, on average, enrolls in the medical cannabis[5]
32% of Americans received an opioid prescription in the past two years.[6]
24% of the U.S. population took three or more prescription drugs in the past 30 days.[7]
Qualifying Conditions
37 states’ programs include a general category for severe or chronic pain or allow cannabis if opiates have been or could be prescribed for the condition.
35 states include PTSD as a qualifying condition. Alaska and South Dakota are the only exceptions.
Research
10,000 studies were reviewed by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine, which led them to find:[8]
Conclusive or substantial evidence that cannabis or cannabinoids are effective in the treatment of chronic pain, chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting, and multiple sclerosis spasticity symptoms;
No link between smoking cannabis and lung cancer; and
No gateway effect.
50% of Crohn’s patients who used medical cannabis entered complete remission and 45% found significant improvement in symptoms.[9]
75% reduction in symptom scores were reported when PTSD patients were using cannabis compared to when they were not.[10]
Hundreds of thousands of patients suffering from HIV/AIDS, glaucoma, cancer, multiple sclerosis, Crohn’s disease, seizure disorders, chronic, severe, and persistent pain, and other debilitating illnesses find that cannabis provides relief from their symptoms.
[1]KF Boehnke, et al., “Medical Cannabis Use Is Associated With Decreased Opiate Medication Use in a Retrospective Cross-Sectional Survey of Patients With Chronic Pain,” Journal of Pain, June 2016. [2] Ashley C. Bradford et al., “Medical Marijuana Laws Reduce Prescription Medication Use In Medicare Part D,” Health Aff.July 2016, Vol. 35 no. 7. [3] "Prescription Opioid Overdose Death Maps," Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, accessed Sept. 21, 2022. [4] Radley, David C., Finkelstein Stan N., and Stafford, Randall S., “Off-label Prescribing Among Office-Based Physicians," Archives of Internal Medicine 166 (9), 2006: 1021–1026. [5]www.mpp.org/issues/medical-marijuana/state-by-state-medical-marijuana-laws/medical-marijuana-patient-numbers/ [6] "One-Third of Americans Have Received an Opioid Prescription in the Past Two Years," NORC at the University of Chicago, Sept. 27, 2018. [7] "Health, United States," Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2019, table 39. [8] “The Health Effects of Cannabis and Cannabinoids: The Current State of Evidence and Recommendations for Research,” National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine, January 2017. [9] Timna Naftali, et al., "Treatment of Crohn’s Disease with Cannabis: An Observational Study,” Israel Medical Association Journal (2011). [10] Greer, GR, et al., “PTSD symptom reports of patients evaluated for the New Mexico Medical Cannabis Program,” Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, 2014 January-March;46(1):73-7. [11]Journal of New England Medicine survey, February 2013. [12] Quinnipiac University Poll, March 2019. [13] The American Legion, “Survey shows veteran households support research of medical cannabis,”November 2017.