The American College of Physicians has published two studies that show there are almost 4 million registered patients who use medical marijuana in the U.S. There are also at least 35, 000 doctors and clinicians who have the authority to recommend it, and more than 110,000 caregivers who can help patients obtain and grow cannabis.
The number of Americans who are registered under state medical marijuana programs more than quintupled from about 747,000 in 2016 to approximately 3.9 million in 2024—though patient registration has “flattened since 2022, likely influenced by the growing number of jurisdictions with recreational cannabis laws,” one of the papers published in the Annals of Internal Medicine said.
Researchers at the University of Michigan say that a decline in registrations of medical marijuana patients in recent years can be attributed to states passing laws allowing adult use of marijuana.
They said that patients may opt out of recreational jurisdictions due to licensing fees, inconveniences, or privacy concerns.
Chronic pain is the most common qualifying medical condition for patients registered with state-registered marijuana clinics. It accounts for 65 percent of patient-reported conditions.
The authors noted that “the widespread use” of medical marijuana “reflects the need for continued rigorous clinical investigation of cannabis products to better understand potential risks and benefits,” and “more broadly.”
Another paper by the same research group found that the number doctors authorized to prescribe medical marijuana to their patients increased from almost 31,000 in 2010 to nearly 36,000 in 2024.
The researchers noted that the states that only legalized medical marijuana had a “substantially lower rate” of clinicians authorized for recommendation than those states which also legalized recreational marijuana. They suggested this may be due to their “longer-standing medical Cannabis programs which may foster greater clinical acceptability of cannabis authorization.”
In 2024, they found nearly 11,000 caregivers approved by state law to assist medical marijuana patients with growing, obtaining, and using their medicine.
The study found that caregiver rates were higher in recreational jurisdictions than in medical-only jurisdictions, and in jurisdictions that allowed home cultivation as compared to those who did not.
The study found that caregivers were more likely to be present per patient, on average, by a factor of four. “This may reflect caregivers’ direct involvement in medical cannabis care, as they can purchase, grow, and produce cannabis for patients—services that authorized clinicians cannot legally provide.”
In both studies, researchers used publicly available reports, registry web sites, data requests and communication with regulators overseeing marijuana programs in state to analyze medical cannabis data.
The researchers warned that there are some limitations to the research, such as the inconsistent way in which state officials track data and report it about their respective medical marijuana programs.
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