Medical Marijuana Laws Could Be Improving Older Americans' Health, Study Suggests

A study published in the Journal of Policy Analysis and Management on older Americans' well-being before and after passage of medical marijuana laws in their state found reductions in reported pain and increased hours worked, reports News-Medical . The researchers examined more than 100,000 responses from survey participants 51 and older between 1992 and 2012. A 4.8 percent decline in reported pain and a 6.6 percent increase in reported health was observed among respondents with a health condition that would qualify for medical marijuana, following their states' approval of laws relative to similar respondents whose states did not pass a law. "Our study is important because of the limited availability of clinical trial data on the effects of medical marijuana," notes Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Professor Lauren Hersch Nicholas. "While several studies point to improved pain control with medical marijuana, research has largely ignored older adults even though they experience the highest rates of medical issues that could be treated with medical marijuana."