Study Reveals Top Reasons Teens And Young Adults Consume Medical Marijuana And In Which US States
A new study utilizing data from Leafwell, a telehealth platform that provides access to licensed physicians, sheds light on medical marijuana patients under 21, who are often overlooked in research. The study details the frequency and rate of teen and young adult cannabis patients in the U.S.
Using data from 2019 to mid-2023, the study analyzed 13,855 patients, of whom 5.7% were minors and 94.3% were young adults. Leafwell, which operates across 34 states, helps patients receive their medical cards, has a substantial patient database.
Key findings include:
Anxiety (40.58%) was the primary medical condition for both groups, followed by chronic pain (14.87%) and insomnia coming in third (9.8%). More specifically, epilepsy, PTSD, and cancer were more frequently reported by minors.
34.38% surveyed said they were using medical cannabis to treat two conditions, while 20.98% said they were using medical cannabis to treat three conditions.
63.17% were reported as White/non-Hispanic and 19.37% surveyed were Hispanic or Latino.
Minor patients were predominantly white, non-Hispanic, and often resided in non-adult-use states. Young adults had a higher percentage of Hispanics and were more likely to reside in states with both medical and adult-use cannabis laws.
The highest number of minor patients is in …