Variability in medical marijuana laws in the United States

Abstract

Marijuana use and its distribution raise several complex health, social, and legal issues in the United States. Marijuana is prohibited in only 23 states and promarijuana laws are likely to be introduced in these states in the future. Increased access to and legalization of medical marijuana may have an impact on recreational marijuana use and perception through increased availability and decreased restrictiveness around the drug. The authors undertook an analysis to characterize the policy features of medical marijuana legislation, including an emphasis on the types of medical conditions that are included in medical marijuana laws. A high degree of variability in terms of allowable medical conditions, limits on cultivation and possession, and restrictiveness of policies was discovered. Further research is needed to determine if this variability impacts recreational use in those states.

Figure 1

Word map of medical conditions permitted to use medical marijuana by state. Size of the word is directly related to the proportion of states who include that particular condition. Thus, larger words are more common across states and smaller words reflect conditions included in fewer states.