According to researchers, a new study finds that 25 percent of all cancer patients use medical marijuana. “All cancer patients” in this case refers to the over 900 cancer patients who participated in the research. The other findings of this study confirm two things: cancer patients may find relief from medical cannabis. And they want to get more information about it.
The Study
Cancer researchers based in Seattle, Washington conducted this study by surveying 926 cancer patients. All of the patients lived in Washington, where cannabis is legal for both medicinal and recreational purposes. The ages of the patients involved in the study ranged from 46 to 66 years old, although the median age of the participants was 58. The purpose of the study was to get an idea of how many cancer patients use cannabis.
From an initial survey, nearly 75 percent of those in the study expressed a strong interest in medical marijuana and wanted to receive more information about it from their doctor. The initial survey also revealed that about 66 percent of the cancer patients reported previous cannabis use.
Other important figures from the survey show that among the participants, 24 to 25 percent said that they used cannabis in the past year. Twenty-one percent said that they had consumed cannabis in the past month.
Of those, the study revealed that 74 percent of the active participants consumed cannabis at least once a week. Among that faction, 56 percent used medical marijuana once a day. Going deeper, among those who consumed weed once a day, 31 percent self-reported using cannabis more than once a day.
The survey further revealed that the preferred methods of consuming medical cannabis among the participants were smoking it, eating it, or a combination of the two. The research was conducted through a combination of surveys and drug testing (urinalysis).
Final Hit: 25 Percent Of All Cancer Patients Use Medical Marijuana
So what can we conclude from this rabbit hole of percentages?
Is it fair to say that 25 percent of all cancer patients use medical marijuana? Yes and no.
Twenty-five percent of the 926 participating cancer patients used cannabis to cope with their symptoms, which ranged from physical difficulties to neuropsychiatric effects of their illness.
While looking at studies like this, we need to keep a few things in mind. There were only 926 participants. There are literally millions of cancer patients in the United States alone. Furthermore, all of the participating cancer patients in the study lived in a state where cannabis is legal for both medicinal and recreational use.
But even though this study focuses on a very small subset of the population, we can infer some important things.
Cancer patients are finding relief through using cannabis. And, more interestingly but not surprisingly, cancer patients prefer to get information about cannabis from their doctor or medical provider. This last point should be the driving force in further medical cannabis legislation in the United States. People view cannabis as medicine and want it to be treated as such. Focusing on the medical aspects of cannabis further legitimizes the plant to a growing number of people who would stand to benefit from it. Furthermore, focusing on the healing properties of cannabis could prove to be the key to more states establishing medical marijuana programs.
