A new report finds that in Minnesota medical marijuana is beneficial for most patients

The Minnesota State Health Department announced that a majority of residents who took part in the medical marijuana program’s first year reported getting “substantial benefits” from their treatment. The participants also said that the side effects of the drug were minimal and there were no serious consequences reported.

When asked to rate the benefits of their treatments using medical cannabis using a scale of 1 – 7 where 1 is no benefit and 7 is a great deal of benefit, 64 percent of the patients rated the therapy at a 6 or 7.

The agency said in a recent statement; “Across all patients and in the area of symptom reduction, patients achieved a 30 percent reduction of more in symptoms which is an amount considered clinically meaningful. The conditions included seizures, Tourette syndrome, Crohn’s disease and muscle spasms.

There was a small but important proportion of patients, measured at 9 percent, who indicated little or no benefit and who rated the treatment at a 1, 2 or 3. Some patients also reported that affordability continues to be an issue because medical cannabis is not covered by health insurance.

The study by the Minnesota State Health Department drew on data from survey results as well as enrollment, purchasing and related health information to describe the experience of patients using medical cannabis. Data was gathered from the program’s start date on July 15, 2015 through June 30, 2016. A more complete study is scheduled to be released in the summer of 2017.

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