HelloMD is the medical marijuana equivalent of the ‘find a handyman sites’ that used to proliferate the Internet. For a fee, it connects patients to medical marijuana service providers, while providing a host of related free information to ensure user retention. HelloMD published a survey aimed at dispelling the impression that medical cannabis patients are little more that potheads, and it thinks it proved the point.
The Core Finding of the Medical Marijuana Patient Survey
The report states under its conclusions that, “… the prevailing perception of a medical marijuana patient is a masquerading recreational user (a stoner)” is unfounded. “78% of those using cannabis for health and wellness are above the age of 25 … these people are highly educated working professionals. Many are parents. They could be your friends, your colleagues, or your neighbors.
“All of them have legitimate health issues … our research and analysis show a much larger portion be genuinely seeking an alternative to traditional medication for improved health and wellness”. Here’s a key table lifted from the report that is of intense interest to those either trading in, or thinking of entering the lucrative medical marijuana market.
Source of Information in This Table
However, over half the 17,000 MMJ users surveyed indicated a fondness for psychoactive cannabis highs too, putting a slightly different spin on the ball that HelloMD is trying to play back down the line. The answers to the question, “do you prefer psychoactive cannabis products?” fell into four distinct camps.
28%: YES
31%: SOMEWHAT
20%: NO
31%: DON’T KNOW
Given the currently unsympathetic federal approach to medical marijuana consumption, and HelloMD’s assertion that, “78% of those using cannabis for health and wellness are … highly educated working professionals” the proportion enjoying an associated psychoactive high is if anything likely to be greater.
So Where Does that Leave the Claim that MMJ is Only Medicine
Objectively speaking, this counters the claim that medical marijuana patients are not after pleasurable experiences. On Page 5 of their report, HelloMD states that, “almost all users (76%) reported using cannabis for relaxation … respondents reported beneficial side effects of relaxation, mood elevation, a better sleep, a replacement for the use of alcohol or as a libido or sexual enhancement”.
Taking medical marijuana appears to be more pleasant than – and sometimes as effective as – taking pharmaceuticals to dull pain. If somebody has a problem with that, then we would love to hear the scientific basis for their argument, and not receive a delivery of sour grapes.