Older, Less Regulated Medical Marijuana Programs Have Much Greater Enrollment Rates Than Newer 'Medicalized' Programs

• Published in: Health Affairs Vol. 35; no. 3; pp. 480 - 488
• Main Authors: Williams, Arthur Robin, Olfson, Mark, Kim, June H, Martins, Silvia S, Kleber, Herbert D
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States The People to People Health Foundation, Inc., Project HOPE 01.03.2016
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis; Cannabis; Controlled substances; Discretion; District of Columbia; Drug legalization; Drug policy; Enrollments; FDA approval; Female; Health Care Reform - organization & administration; Health Personnel - education; Health Personnel - organization & administration; Health services; Humans; Laws; Legalization; Male; Manufacturing; Marijuana; Marijuana Abuse - epidemiology; Marijuana Smoking - epidemiology; Medical marijuana; Medical Marijuana - therapeutic use; Medical personnel; Medical practices; Middle Aged; Multiple sclerosis; Pain; Patients; Pharmaceuticals; Physicians; Prescription drugs; Prescriptions; Program Evaluation; Program implementation; Regulation; State regulation; Studies; Surveys and Questionnaires; Tetrahydrocannabinol; THC; District of Columbia; United States > US; USA, Washington D.C; Mental Health/Substance Abuse; Public Opinion; Physicians; Pharmaceuticals; State/Local Issues
• ISSN: 0278-2715; 1544-5208
• DOI: 10.1377/hlthaff.2015.0528

Twenty-three states and the District of Columbia have passed laws implementing medical marijuana programs. The nineteen programs that were in operation as of October 2014 collectively had over one million participants. All states (including D.C.) with medical marijuana laws require physicians directly or indirectly to authorize the use of marijuana at their discretion, yet little is known about how medical marijuana programs vary regarding adherence to basic principles of medical practice and associated rates of enrollment. To explore this, we analyzed marijuana programs according to seven components of traditional medical care and pharmaceutical regulation. We then examined enrollment rates, while controlling for potentially confounding state characteristics. We found that fourteen of the twenty-four programs were nonmedical and collectively enrolled 99.4 percent of participants nationwide, with enrollment rates twenty times greater than programs deemed to be "medicalized." Policy makers implementing or amending medical marijuana programs should consider the powerful relationship between less regulation and greater enrollment. Researchers should consider variations across programs when assessing programs' population-level effects.