Federal Grant Approved to Study the Effects of Medical Marijuana in Arkansas |

A federal grant will help fund a study into Arkansas’ medical cannabis program.

Researchers at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) and the Arkansas Center for Health will become researchers thanks to the $ 1.3 million donated to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, which is part of the National Institutes of Health Improvement to conduct what is called “a unique population health analysis of the medical marijuana program that combines information on eligible consumers’ cannabis purchases with insurance claim records and other data sources to provide a more complete understanding of the impact of cannabis on consumer medical care.”

The study, titled “Population-Based Analyzes of Health Care and Outcomes Among Medical Marijuana Users,” will “also examine the impact of COVID-19 on Arkansas’s medical marijuana program, including changes in cardholder inquiries, product purchases, health care and health care programs Adverse Events, “reads a press release from the Arkansas Center for Health Improvement, which is” a bipartisan, independent health policy center that serves as a catalyst for improving the health of all Arkansans through evidence-based research, outreach, and collaborative program development. “

“This is an exciting and unique opportunity not only for our state but also for the country to study the effectiveness of cannabis for therapeutic purposes,” said Dr. Joe Thompson, co-lead investigator on this study and President and CEO of the Arkansas Center for Health Improvement. “While researchers have accumulated scientific evidence on the use of cannabis to relieve symptoms such as pain and anxiety, there is little evidence of how amount, exposure, potency, and how it is used affects a person’s health experience.”

In addition, the study will also include “six Arkansas-based data sources, including the Arkansas Healthcare Transparency Initiative’s Arkansas All-Payer Claims Database (APCD), Arkansas Department of Health medical marijuana patient registry data, medical marijuana dispensary purchase data, vital records, records Arkansas State Police Emergency Department and Vehicle Accident Data, “with all data being anonymized with links that leverage the transparency initiative’s unique capabilities.”

The Arkansas Center for Health Improvement said this research will help elucidate the potential role of cannabis in medical therapy by examining data for Arkansans who have qualified for medical use.

Arkansas voters approved a 2016 election to legalize medical cannabis. The state’s first pharmacies opened in 2019.

In December, state officials reported that patients in Arkansas had purchased $ 200.7 million and 30,648 pounds of medical marijuana.

This milestone represented a massive increase since April last year, when the state reported medical cannabis sales of $ 63 million and £ 10,050 in the first 11 months of the program’s existence. A month earlier, the program had passed the $ 50 million mark.

Arkansas is now one of nearly 40 states that have legalized medical cannabis as a treatment. According to the Arkansas Center for Health Improvement, there are “more than 79,000 active marijuana medical ID holders in Arkansas with one or more of the 18 approved conditions” this month.

The state also has just over 30 licensed pharmacies and a total of five growers.

According to the state health department, patients with the following qualifying conditions are eligible for a prescription of medical cannabis: cancer, glaucoma, human immunodeficiency virus / acquired immunodeficiency syndrome positive status, hepatitis C, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Tourette’s syndrome, Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, post-traumatic stress disorder, severe arthritis, fibromyalgia, Alzheimer’s disease, cachexia or wasting syndrome, peripheral neuropathy, persistent pain or pain that has not responded to conventional medication, treatment, or surgery for more than six months, severe nausea, seizures, including without Limitation those characteristic of epilepsy, severe and persistent muscle spasms, including, without limitation, those characteristic of multiple sclerosis.

Any other medical condition or treatment that has been approved by the Ministry of Health is also eligible.