Smoking Marijuana is popular: A new report shows not so new information
Smoking marijuana has always been the most popular form of using cannabis. A recent report by the Department of Health shows that to be true for Florida medical cannabis patients as well. The report studied data through the six month period from October 1st, 2019 to March 31st, 2020 and had some notable highlights including:
- In that time, physicians wrote nearly 1.4 million orders certifying medical marijuana for 232,586 Florida residents.
- As of March 31st, nearly 271,000 Floridians were certified to obtain medical marijuana with THC.
- About 86% of those patients received orders for smoking marijuana.
- Of the 1.4 million orders physicians placed, 795,019 of those orders were for smokable medical marijuana
- The top 3 disorders that patients qualified for medical cannabis use were post-traumatic stress disorder, medical conditions similar to PTSD as allowed by Amendment Two (examples being anxiety, depression, and/or insomnia), and chronic pain management.
In Review
The data is obviously from before Covid-19 and it will be interesting to compare with numbers from the next six months. The article went on the further state that information from October 1st, 2019 to September 30th, 2020 would be available before the end of the year.
Nonetheless, the data is consistent with trends we’ve seen before the pandemic. Namely, a lack of mental health care resources and an overdependence on pharmaceutical medications. This report shows that even before the pandemic patients are seeking alternative options and are finding success with medical cannabis use. More so, it points to the level of growing acceptance of cannabis use which is a huge step forward. As Med Men says, this is the new normal.
I can only assume the trend continues upwards. For patients interested in medical cannabis, please consult with a physician before use.
For the full report released by the Department of Health, please click here.
