A report released by the Illinois Department of Public Health shows that the users of medical marijuana in that state have increased by 80 percent so far when compared with the statistics for 2017.
The report shows that most patients using medical cannabis wanted to treat post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). More than 4,000 people out of the 46,000 who have used medical marijuana this year used cannabis to treat PTSD.
PTSD was followed by fibromyalgia at 3,400 patients while cancer was close behind at 2,500 patients seeking medical cannabis.
It is also noteworthy that about 75 percent of all patients on medical marijuana were at least 40-years old. This statistic may be correlated to the qualifying conditions for which one can get a recommendation for medical marijuana.
It is predicted that the number of people seeking medical marijuana will rise further for two key reasons.
First, there has been an increase in the number of doctors who get certified to recommend medical marijuana. The number now stands at 3,000 compared to the 2,100 who were available in 2017. Each doctor recommended approximately 25 patients while a few handled about 100 patients each.
This increase means that patients will find it easier to access a doctor who can recommend medical cannabis for their conditions.
Secondly, some regulatory changes will make it easier for people to access medical cannabis. For example, a law was signed by the Governor to allow doctors to prescribe medical marijuana for chronic pain instead of asking patients to take opioid painkillers as was the case before. Additionally, it will be easier to process patient applications since fingerprinting and performing criminal background checks will no longer be part of the process through which medical marijuana applicants are screened.
However, some medical experts are warning that the use of medical marijuana may create cases of substance abuse. This fear arises because some of the medical cannabis dispensaries have products which are about 90 percent THC. THC is the psychoactive ingredient of marijuana responsible for the high experienced by users.
The addiction experts are also concerned about the quantities that patients can buy. In their view, the current limit is high and can permit a patient to consume the cannabis product on a daily basis. Addiction can easily arise when that happens.
You can be certain that companies like NUGL Inc. (OTC: NUGL) and Pacific Software, Inc. (OTC: PFSF) are crunching the numbers coming from Illinois in order to see what direction the medical marijuana industry will take in the coming years.
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