13 states have laws pertaining to low-THC, high-CBD marijuana.
0 states have repealed effective medical marijuana laws.
In total, 49 states acknowledge the medical benefits of marijuana.
Medical Marijuana and Opioids
25% average decrease in opioid overdose deaths in the first year of patient access to a medical marijuana program1
33% average decrease in opioid overdose deaths after five years of patient access to a medical marijuana program2
48% reduction in patients’ opioid useafter three months of medical
 marijuana treatment3
78% of patients either reduced or stopped opioid use altogether4
1,826 fewer doses of painkillers on average per year, per state, for patients participating in Medicare Part D5
Prescription Medications
500,000 people died of prescription drug overdoses between 2000 and 2015.6
20% of prescriptions are “off label” — prescribed for a condition for which they are not FDA-approved.7
0 people have died from marijuana overdoses in all of recorded history.
Number of Patients
1% of a state’s population, on average, enrolls in the medical marijuana program.8
38% of the U.S. population took prescription opioids in 2015.9
Qualifying Conditions
31 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.
34 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:10
Conclusive or substantial evidence that marijuana or cannabinoids are effective in the treatment of chronic pain, chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting, and multiple sclerosis spasticity symptoms;
No link between smoking marijuana and lung cancer; and
No gateway effect.
50% of Crohn’s patients who used medical marijuana entered complete remission and 45% found significant improvement in symptoms.11
75% reduction in symptom scores were reported when PTSD patients were using marijuana compared to when they were not.12
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 marijuana provides relief from their symptoms.
Support for Allowing Medical Marijuana
76% of doctors13
94% of Americans14
83% of veterans15
1 Marcus A. Bachhuber, et al., “Medical Cannabis Laws and Opioid Analgesic Overdose Mortality in the United States, 1999-2010,” JAMA Intern Med. October 2014, Vol. 174 no. 10. 2 Ibid. 3 Staci A. Gruber, et al.,“Splendor in the Grass? A Pilot Study Assessing the Impact of Medical Marijuana on Executive Function,” Front. Pharmacol. 13 October 2016, Vol. 7. 4 “The Cannabis and Opioid Survey,” Healer.com, 4 October 2016. 5 Ashley C. Bradford, et al., “Medical Marijuana Laws Reduce Prescription Medication Use In Medicare Part D,” Health Aff. July 2016, Vol. 35 no. 7. 6 http://news.unm.edu/news/study-finds-legal-cannabis-may-reduce-use-of-dangerous-prescription-drugs 7 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. 8 www.mpp.org/issues/medical-marijuana/state-by-state-medical-marijuana-laws/medical-marijuana-patient-numbers/ 9 “More than 1 in 3 Americans prescribed opioids in 2015,” CBS News, August, 1, 2017. 10 “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. 11 Timna Naftali, et al., "Treatment of Crohn’s Disease with Cannabis: An Observational Study,” Israel Medical Association Journal (2011). 12 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. 13 Journal of New England Medicine survey, February 2013. 14 Quinnipiac University Poll, “U.S. Voter Support For Marijuana Hits New High,” April 2017. 15 The American Legion, “Survey shows veteran households support research of medical cannabis,”November 2017.
