February 8, 2019 12:01PM 

# Medical Marijuana 

By [Jeffrey Miron](https://www.cato.org/people/jeffrey-miron) 

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Thanks to a [newly released study](https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.healthaffairs.org_doi_full_10.1377_hlthaff.2018.05266&d=DwMF-g&c=WO-RGvefibhHBZq3fL85hQ&r=5btokcuLdvleX4AxCGn5t7s7-MUZw5Ak-OdNNJJp3UE&m=LERUrt2zxfutn8DGHbWxSrdBHh6k0pyo4LPr6e89kJI&s=ISFedDNODHpVv1mELANMK9sriMEoEoHK3f-rV3Zrono&e=), advocates of medical marijuana have even stronger arguments in favor of expanding marijuana legalization.

> Using data from state registries, the authors find that a large majority of medical marijuana patients – 64.9 percent – report chronic pain as a qualifying condition. Additionally, “of the conditions for which patients are licensed to use medical cannabis, 85.5 percent have either substantial or conclusive evidence of efficacy.”

As politicians continue to argue over how best to address the current opioid epidemic, medical marijuana is quietly making a case for itself. [Study](https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov_pubmed_28372506&d=DwMF-g&c=WO-RGvefibhHBZq3fL85hQ&r=5btokcuLdvleX4AxCGn5t7s7-MUZw5Ak-OdNNJJp3UE&m=LERUrt2zxfutn8DGHbWxSrdBHh6k0pyo4LPr6e89kJI&s=qIhWnymrW3JObO1p7wmZUizISfxgky-rnfN7lORNd3k&e=) after [study](https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov_pubmed_28189912&d=DwMF-g&c=WO-RGvefibhHBZq3fL85hQ&r=5btokcuLdvleX4AxCGn5t7s7-MUZw5Ak-OdNNJJp3UE&m=LERUrt2zxfutn8DGHbWxSrdBHh6k0pyo4LPr6e89kJI&s=EAgyyZxgkqT7y1J-_Hkjzd4UgOjjcXpu3glJpPXvZX8&e=) has shown marijuana’s effectiveness as a substitute for opioids in patients struggling with pain management. Removing marijuana’s Schedule I classification and expanding patient access should be a priority.

*Erin Partin co-authored this post.*

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