Medical Marijuana Zone

In 1996, California voters passed Proposition 215, making the Golden State the first in the union to allow for the medical use of marijuana. Since then, 32 more states, the District of Columbia, Guam and Puerto Rico have enacted similar laws. As of Jan. 22, 2018, the Vermont legislature passed adult-use legalization legislation and the governor signed the bill. The measure does NOT set up a regulatory for system for sales or production. See text of measure below.

A total of 33 states, the District of Columbia, Guam and Puerto Rico have approved a comprehensive public medical marijuana/cannabis programs.  (See Table 1 below for more info.) Approved efforts in 13 states allow use of “low THC, high cannabidiol (CBD)” products for medical reasons in limited situations or as a legal defense. Those programs are not counted as comprehensive medical marijuana programs but are listed in Table 2. NCSL uses criteria similar to other organizations to determine if a program is “comprehensive”: See Table 2 below for more information.

1. Protection from criminal penalties for using marijuana for a medical purpose;
2. Access to marijuana through home cultivation, dispensaries or some other system that is likely to be implemented;
3. It allows a variety of strains, including those more than “low THC;” and
4. It allows either smoking or vaporization of some kind of marijuana products, plant material or extract.
   

   Medical Uses of Marijuana

   In response to California’s Prop 215, the Institute of Medicine issued a report that examined potential therapeutic uses for marijuana. The report found that: “Scientific data indicate the potential therapeutic value of cannabinoid drugs, primarily THC, for pain relief, control of nausea and vomiting, and appetite stimulation; smoked marijuana, however, is a crude THC delivery system that also delivers harmful substances. The psychological effects of cannabinoids, such as anxiety reduction, sedation, and euphoria can influence their potential therapeutic value. Those effects are potentially undesirable for certain patients and situations and beneficial for others. In addition, psychological effects can complicate the interpretation of other aspects of the drug’s effect.”

   Further studies have found that marijuana is effective in relieving some of the symptoms of HIV/AIDS, cancer, glaucoma, and multiple sclerosis.¹  

   In early 2017, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine released a report based on the review of over 10,000 scientific abstracts from marijuana health research. They also made 100 conclusions related to health and suggest ways to improve cannabis research.