News » Medical Marijuana Laws Reaches New Highs, Use by Minors Declines, Safety Improves

The number of medical marijuana patients in the United States is estimated to be between 1 million and 1.5 million spread across 16 states and the District of Columbia – although for the record D.C., Delaware and New Jersey’s medical marijuana programs are not yet active. Although the amount of marijuana that a patient is legally allowed to posses varies from state to state, NORML reports that currently in the United States there are between 17-24 million cannabis plants and up to 1 million pounds of cured marijuana. The total value of this economy is $2.3 billion on the low end, and $6.2 billion on the high end.

But what effect has this had on marijuana use as a whole?

Opponents of medical marijuana claim that it is a stepping stone towards marijuana decriminalization, or even legalization, and that the risks to society outweigh any potential benefit to patients. The trouble with this argument is that it simply is not supported by the facts – across the board.

Minors aged 12 to 17 are often highlighted as an at risk group who’s opinion is easily swayed by the passing of compassionate care laws. Does removing the stigma of “reefer madness” from marijuana cause its use among this group to skyrocket. The short answer is no, which could easily by rephrased as “not at all.”

With the exception of Maine, since the passing of compassionate care laws in that state, marijuana use by minors is down across the board. Although Maine is the exception in this case, it is worth noting that its use was the lowest of all states that have legalized medical marijuana and although there was a percentage increase, it is now in line with the average use in other states.

But surely all these medical marijuana users are making the roads less safe, right? Again, the number of highway fatalities has decreased here as well – though to be fair these numbers are down across the nation as well.

Highway crash data: http://www-fars.nhtsa.dot.gov/States/StatesCrashesAndAllVictims.aspx



Safety in the workplace? The same story here as with use by minors and highway safety – if there is a correlation medical marijuana laws have helped to lower these numbers, and certainly haven’t caused an increase.

Tags: Alaska, California, DC, Hawaii, Maine, medical marijuana, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, safety, Vermont, Washington