What diseases can medical marijuana treat? New study to tell you

Recently released data from tens of thousands of medical marijuana patients in the U.S. show that pain, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are the primary conditions that qualify for state medical marijuana programs. Notably, the majority of patients (58.6%) also reported having multiple medical conditions that were also being treated with medical marijuana. The analysis found that among patients with multiple conditions, anxiety and chronic pain were the most common, followed by insomnia, muscle spasms and post-traumatic stress disorder. “On average, each patient reported at least two ailments, suggesting that medical marijuana users often face complex health challenges,” Leafwell, the company that provided the data for the study, said in a blog post about the findings. “This complexity suggests that healthcare providers and policymakers need to look beyond the treatment of a single disease and think deeply about how medical marijuana should fit into a broader healthcare strategy.” The report was co-authored by researchers at medical marijuana platform Leafwell, along with the Duke University School of Medicine and the University of San Diego's Center for Cannabis Research. The team examined anonymized data from more than 81,000 patients on the Leafwell platform in 32 states with cannabis-enabled medical services in 2022, and the findings were published in the journal Population Medicine.

The authors said the finding “represents another step toward understanding the status of complex co-morbidities associated with the study of medical marijuana treatment.”

The study says, “Understanding the profile of medical marijuana patients and the types of spontaneous co-morbidities they report will help medical professionals communicate with patients about issues related to the use of medical marijuana.” Among other findings, the study showed that medical marijuana patients were about equally divided between males (51.1 percent) and females (48.9 percent). Meanwhile, more than seventy percent (71.5 percent) of patients were white and non-Hispanic. They were followed closely by black non-Hispanic patients (10.4%), Hispanic patients (8.4%), and patients of other races (7.1%). Nearly two-thirds of the patients (65%) were between the ages of 21 and 49. Another quarter (25.4%) of the patients were over 50 years old, while 8.3% were under 21 years old. The average age of the entire study group was 40.

The authors note that their finding that pain, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder were particularly popular qualifying disorders is consistent with evidence on specific users of medical marijuana and their reasons for using it, but earlier studies have shown that multiple sclerosis and cancer diagnoses are much more common.

This suggests that the reasons for using medical marijuana may have changed over time, the authors write - which coincides with the addition of more qualifying diseases to state medical marijuana programs. The report concludes, “Understanding the number of illnesses self-reported by patients is important because it helps to understand patients' perceptions of illnesses associated with medical marijuana use. Overall, this work contributes to our understanding of the medical marijuana patient picture in the United States and why medical marijuana is used.”

Meanwhile, Leafwell's post on the study's findings highlights some of the report's implications for healthcare and policy. These include the importance of tailoring treatment programs to individual patients, the growing role of medical marijuana in managing mental health, and the broader need for additional therapies for chronic pain.

Indeed, as medical marijuana continues to evolve as a therapeutic option, so will our understanding of its role in healthcare. Millions of Americans are using medical marijuana for pain relief, and it's clear that this amazing plant is playing an important role.”

Another report by Leafwell in September showed that legalizing medical marijuana in the U.S. could save federal healthcare providers nearly $29 billion in healthcare costs. The study looked at state-level healthcare savings in jurisdictions that legalized medical marijuana and found that businesses in those areas paid 3.4 percent less for health insurance premiums compared to areas where marijuana was illegal, a savings of about $238 per employee per year. 

“This report is further proof that investing in the cannabis care sector is not only good for patients, but also good for business efficiencies,” June Chin, Leafwell's chief medical officer, said in a statement at the time. “By including medical marijuana in health insurance plans, employers can create more inclusive and supportive work environments to increase employee satisfaction and ultimately contribute to a healthier, more resilient workforce.”

Meanwhile, a federal study released earlier this year found that in recent years, as more states have legalized marijuana and expanded the range of symptoms that qualify for marijuana medical conditions, the number of people enrolled in legal medical marijuana programs in states across the U.S. has shown a dramatic increase, having risen by 610 percent since 2016, and between 2020 and 2022, the number of U.S. medical marijuana program participants The number of patients in the U.S. alone jumped by one-third (33.3%) between 2020 and 2022.
Researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), and the University of Michigan point to the rise in medical marijuana use as a result of “growing acceptance of marijuana culture and recognition of the dangers of the ‘war on drugs’ (e.g., mass incarceration and related consequences, such as family separation)”. incarceration and related consequences such as family separation, traumatic encounters, and economic loss), as well as interest in the potential therapeutic properties of marijuana.” Patient studies have found that minors and young adults are often also eligible to participate in state medical marijuana programs for the same reasons as older adults, for conditions including anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, and chronic pain.
Cancer and epilepsy were more common reasons for medical marijuana recommendations for underage patients (under 18) than for young adults between the ages of 18 and 20. Meanwhile, older patients were more likely to cite depression, chronic pain, or insomnia as their primary ailments that qualified them for treatment.
In recent years, as more U.S. jurisdictions have legalized medical marijuana and adult-use cannabis, and as the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) itself has considered measures to reclassify marijuana, federal agencies have taken a keen interest in studying trends in the marijuana market. Earlier this year, for example, another study on adolescent marijuana use, funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), found no correlation between sales of legal adult-use marijuana and the marijuana consumption preferences of middle school students.