Learn the Facts behind the Myths about Medical Marijuana in this document.

Patients are Using Marijuana as Medicine

Proponents of medical marijuana point to a large body of reports and journal articles from around the world that support the therapeutic value of marijuana in treating a variety of disease-related problems, including:

Given these properties, marijuana has been used successfully to treat the debilitating symptoms of the following:

Read the stories of people who have used marijuana to treat their illnesses and symptoms.

Get more information about these topics:

There are Legal Medical Marijuana Patients in the U.S.

In 1975, a Washington, D.C., resident was arrested for growing marijuana to treat his glaucoma. He won his case by using the medical necessity defense, forcing the government to find a way to provide him with his medicine. In 1978, the FDA created the Investigational New Drug (IND) Compassionate Access Program, allowing patients whose serious medical conditions could be relieved only by marijuana to apply for and receive marijuana from the federal government.

Over the next 14 years, other patients, less than 100 in total, were admitted to the program for conditions including chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (emesis), glaucoma, spasticity, and weight loss.

Then, in 1992, in response to a large number of applications from AIDS patients, the George H.W. Bush administration closed the program to all new applicants.

Five people remain in the program today and continue to receive their monthly supply of government-grown medical marijuana (300 cigarettes/month).

Research Supports the Effectiveness of Medical Marijuana

In 1998, the National Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Medicine (IOM) concluded, after reviewing relevant scientific literature including dozens of works documenting marijuana’s therapeutic value that there are some circumstances in which smoking marijuana is a legitimate treatment. Read more about clinical research studies on the medical properties of marijuana.

The Truth about Medical Marijuana Myths

The IOM concluded that “It [marijuana] does not appear to be a gateway drug to the extent that it is the cause or even that it is the most significant predictor of serious drug abuse; that is, care must be taken not to attribute cause to association.” Read more from the Institute of Medicine.

Doctors' Do Support Patient Access to Medical Marijuana

A scientific survey conducted in 1990 by Harvard University researchers found that 54% of oncologists with an opinion favored the controlled medical availability of marijuana, and 44% had already suggested at least once that a patient obtain marijuana illegally.

WebMD’s July 2003 poll of its physician and nurse members found: “Three out of four doctors - and nine out of 10 nurses - said they favored decriminalization of marijuana for medical uses.” Read more of the dozens of favorable public surveys on medical marijuana.

Federal Law Does Not Prohibit Doctors from Recommending Marijuana to Patients

Doctors cannot be arrested for recommending marijuana to patients: The federal government may not initiate an investigation of a physician solely on the basis of a recommendation of marijuana within a bona fide doctor-patient relationship, unless the government in good faith believes that it has substantial evidence of criminal conduct-Opinion of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in Conant v. Walters (2002). Read more about this case and other major federal court decisions on medical marijuana.

The Facts about State Laws Legalizing Medical Marijuana

Since 1996, medical marijuana initiatives received a majority of votes in every state in which they appeared on the ballot - Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, the District of Columbia, Maine, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington state. Read more about 30 states with medical marijuana laws in the United States.