More than 3 in 4 New York State medical marijuana patients say cannabis has allowed them to reduce their intake of prescription drugs, according to a new report from the state’s Office of Cannabis Management (OCM). That includes 2 in 3 (66 percent) who report that marijuana has specifically “reduced their need for prescription opioids for pain reduction.”
Those are among a bevy of findings in the new OCM report, which draws on surveys sent last year to current or past medical marijuana patients as well as to medical providers who recommend it. The 40-page document includes information on qualifying conditions, frequency of use, product types and patient demographics. And it offers a number of recommendations aimed at improving the state’s medical cannabis system.
The report concludes that—despite the need to address some challenges facing New York’s medical marijuana program— participants are generally satisfied with how things have been going. Among patients, 79 percent said they intended to renew their certifications after they expire, while 86 percent said they’d recommend New York’s medical cannabis program to a friend or family member.
The system could be improved, the report says, by reducing costs to patients and caretakers, making medical marijuana products
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