Gainesville, FL: Patients enrolled in Florida’s medical cannabis access program overwhelmingly report obtaining therapeutic benefits from marijuana products, according to survey data published in the journal Medical Cannabis and Cannabinoids.
Researchers affiliated with the University of Florida at Gainesville surveyed 632 patients authorized to access state-licensed medical cannabis products.
The top ten most frequently reported reasons for using cannabis were anxiety, chronic pain, depression, post-traumatic stress, migraine, fibromyalgia, ADHD, bipolar disorder, high blood pressure, and cancer. Those suffering from chronic pain, depression, and anxiety were most likely to report symptom improvements following their use of medical cannabis. Patients with high blood pressure and ADHD were least likely to perceive improvements following treatment.
The study’s authors concluded: “Among those who had the top ten most frequently reported medical conditions, most respondents reported improvement in chronic pain (98.4 percent), depression (97.2 percent), anxiety (95.3 percent), fibromyalgia (93.9 percent), PTSD (91.5 percent), bipolar disorder (88.8 percent), insomnia/sleeping problems (86.4 percent), headaches/migraine (78.9 percent), and ADHD (66.7 percent). For high blood pressure, our respondents most frequently reported improvement (42.6 percent); however, a high percentage of the respondents also reported experiencing no change (35.2 percent) or being unsure (22.2 percent) about MC’s [medical cannabis’] impact on their blood pressure. A small percentage reported a perceived worsening impact of MC on ADHD (1.6 percent), fibromyalgia (1.2 percent), anxiety (0.9 percent), depression (0.8 percent), insomnia/sleeping problems (0.7 percent), headaches/migraine (1.4 percent), bipolar disorder (1.1 percent), PTSD (0.4 percent), and chronic pain (0.3 percent).”
Approximately 860,000 people are registered in Florida to access medical cannabis products.
Full text of the study, “Reasons for use and perceived effects of medical cannabis: A cross-sectional statewide survey,” appears in Medical Cannabis and Cannabinoids.