Marijuana is in the news again, bringing more controversy to the table. This time it’s regarding a study performed by a website, HelloMD. The study looked at the demographics that use medical and recreational marijuana in the states where it’s legal, and came up with quite a surprising result. Contrary to their depiction in pop-culture, most medical marijuana patients are parents.
Fresh statistics
The study, already deemed one of the largest to date, looked at a sample of 1,400 medical marijuana patients with ages between 18 and 80. The results were as surprising for the staff performing the study as they are interesting to consider.
Generally, the media portrays the average marijuana user as a white, 20-something male, working a menial job, and without any higher education. Of course, there are exceptions, but that is the most prevalent image in movies and TV shows, and even in the news.
But in fact, about 85% of medicinal cannabis patients had a form of higher education or another, with 15% even having a post-graduate degree. Even more surprising, as many as 45% of all medical cannabis users are parents and even grandparents.
Other studies showed more than half of 30 to 49 year old adults having tried the wacky tobacky in 2013, as opposed to only 16% in 1977. Additionally, some 64% of the same demographic would have supported marijuana legalization in 2015, as opposed to only 34% in 2001.
Even more impressive, as many as 96% of all medical marijuana users would recommend the medication to their family and friends if they were suffering from something treatable with the herb.
Medicinal marijuana
The main symptoms and afflictions for which medical marijuana was used in the past year were depression, anxiety, insomnia, stress, and pain. Older patients seemed to use it for pain, and would rather ha it in the form of edibles, while the younger demographic used it more the psychological benefits – like anxiety and other mental disorders, as well as for nausea, and seemed to prefer smoking or vaping it.
Patients reported that in 85% of cases, the medicinal plant worked to relieve their symptoms. The only issue with the efficiency of the green leafed medication stood in the accuracy in determining the proper dosage. As few as 17% of all brands were found to be accurately labeled. This can lead to one of two situations.
Either the patient doesn’t consume enough of the product to have their affliction relieved, or they “overdose”. But since marijuana “overdoses” only consist of nausea, dizziness, and paranoia that last for at most five hours, medicinal marijuana is arguably the safest medicine on the market.
Image source: Wikimedia
