A majority of patients with chronic pain and doctors who treat the condition support federally legalizing marijuana for medical use and having insurance companies cover the costs, according to a new federally funded study from the American Medical Association (AMA). Patients also widely support broader adult-use cannabis legalization.
The research letter, published in AMA Network Open last week, found that 71 percent of chronic pain patients and 59 percent of physicians are in favor of nationally legalizing medical cannabis. There was shared majority support for having insurance companies cover medical marijuana, however, with 64 percent of chronic pain patients and 51 percent of physicians on board with that policy change.
“Cannabis is unique in terms of the complicated policy landscape,” Elizabeth Stone, the lead author of the study at the Rutgers Institute for Health, Health Care Policy and Aging Research, said. “Depending on what state you’re in, it could be that medical cannabis is legal, it could be that medical and recreational use are legal, it could be that neither is legal, but some things are decriminalized.”
“Overall, people with chronic pain were more supportive of the policies that would expand access to medical cannabis, and providers were more supportive of the policies that would restrict access to medical cannabis,” she said.
