Medical marijuana study details Arkansans’ use of the drug, raises questions from lawmakers
Medical marijuana study details Arkansans’ use of the drug, raises questions from lawmakers
Arkansas Times; by Tess Vrbin for the Arkansas Advocate; 8/15/24
... The study, conducted by the Arkansas Center for Health Improvement, is the first ever population-based study of medical marijuana funded by a federal health agency, the National Institutes of Health. ... The state currently has more than 105,000 cardholders, an increase of roughly 29,000 in three years, according to ACHI’s study. ... Lawmakers on the Joint Public Health, Welfare and Labor Committee ... expressed concerns about some of the information in the study, such as the fact that one-third of the certifications for medical marijuana cards in 2021 came from just seven doctors, with little evidence of a physician-patient relationship in many cases.Thirty-eight states and the District of Columbia have legalized marijuana to some extent, and Arkansas is one of 14 states in which the drug is legal only for medicinal purposes.