Policy Ahead of the Science

Forty-one US jurisdictions (37 states) have legalized comprehensive medical cannabis programs since 1996. The number of qualifying conditions per jurisdiction varies from 5 to 29. Five (12%) of 42 qualifying conditions have conclusive or substantial evidence of efficacy and are listed in more than half of all jurisdictions. Half (50%) of qualifying conditions have no or insufficient scientific evidence of benefit from medical cannabis; 9% of qualifying conditions have limited evidence of harm from medical cannabis. The mean number of qualifying conditions per jurisdiction and the proportion of conditions with and without evidence of benefit have not changed since 1996.
Source: The Psychiatric Clinics of North America - Category: Psychiatry Authors: Source Type: research