A surprising number use marijuana to avoid getting high

Since Canada is completely legal, marijuana is considered a recreational drug in 24 US states and medical marijuana in 40, it has become mainstream. A full 90% of people believe it should be legal in some form. Is cannabis like alcohol and is it for entertainment, or are people really using it for something else? According to the data, a surprising number of people use marijuana not to get high, but to get a medical fix.

This number is significant in part because research has shown that cannabis is not nearly as addictive as opioids. North America is facing an unprecedented opioid crisis that has cities large and small scrambling about what to do.

According to a report from High Yield Insights, a Chicago-based consumer behavior research firm, the numbers are intriguing. In states where recreational use has been legalized, nearly half (44 percent) of cannabis users use cannabis for medical purposes, including to relieve pain (69 percent), promote sleep (65 percent), and manage anxiety (54 percent).

In another study published in Psychopharmacology, the numbers are lower but significant. In US states with legal and recreational access (34%) than in illegal US states (23%), US states with only legal and medical care (25%) and Canada (25%). The most common physical health reasons include use for pain relief (53%), sleep (46%), headache/migraine (35%), appetite (22%), and nausea/vomiting (21%). For mental health reasons, anxiety (52%), depression (40%) and PTSD/trauma (17%) were the most common. 11% reported using cannabis to treat other drug or alcohol use, and 4% reported using it for psychosis.

Photo by Keenan Constance via Unsplash

High Yield Insights said patients who use medical marijuana are twice as likely to check CBD levels when purchasing cannabis: 47 percent check CBD levels compared to 25 percent of recreational users. Medical users are also looking for more convenient and discreet consumption options, such as edibles, topicals, oils and tinctures. Notably, medicinal users are twice as likely as recreational users to use topicals (22 percent versus 11 percent) and more than three times more likely to use tinctures (17 percent versus 5 percent).

Related: Cannabis users wean themselves off alcohol and over-the-counter medications

“The industry generally recognizes that the adult consumer is very different from the medical consumer. We saw an opportunity to quantify the behaviors and preferences of this customer segment to gain a deeper understanding and uncover untapped market opportunities,” said Mike Luce, co-founder of High Yield Insights and a veteran in consumer and market research.

“Flowers will always play an important role, but medical users are looking for solutions that are familiar and accessible. In edibles, we are seeing demand for low-dose, fast-acting options that meet consumers’ needs for discretion and convenience. “CBD-focused companies also have an opportunity for growth when aligned with medical cannabis consumers’ interest in today’s niche product forms,” Luce added.

Several studies have shown that medical marijuana helps reduce opioid dosage in patients undergoing treatment for non-cancer pain. More research can be done to justify patient benefits.