Which States Have The Best, And Worst, Medical Marijuana Programs?

Brody Osterbuhr
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On paper, more Americans have access to medical marijuana than there are guns in America, like it should be, but not all state medical marijuana laws are the same.

In America, 44 states have medical marijuana laws on the books, meaning 85 percent of the country should have access to medicinal cannabis to treat themselves or their families. The sad truth is only 19 of those 44 states got a score of 80 or better in a 2017 report published by Americans for Safe Access (ASA.)

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ASA is the leading organization that reports on medical marijuana in the United States. When they look at medical marijuana laws they evaluate them on five key factors.



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  1. Patient Rights and Civil Protection from Discrimination
  2. Access to Medicine
  3. Ease of Navigation
  4. Functionality
  5. Consumer Safety and Provider Requirements

Scores are given to states based on those factors with a combined score out of 100. A perfect score would translate to the best state medicinal program possible, something that will probably never happen.

Here are the bottom five states and their scores.

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  1. Wisconsin 21.4
  2. Tennessee 23.8
  3. Missouri 24.8
  4. Utah 25.8
  5. Iowa 26.4

Those states technically have access to marijuana to treat medical conditions, but for Iowa the only condition they recognize is seizure disorders/epilepsy. So if you have cancer, AIDS, or a terminal illness in Iowa you can not get CBD to help with the symptoms. There are some states that do have a good record on medical marijuana.

Here are the top five states for medical marijuana.

  1.  Illinois 89.8
  2. Michigan 88.75
  3. California 87
  4. Maine 86.2
  5. Oregon 86.2

Illinois nearly got an A, but their score for access to medicine brought down their overall score. Illinois did get bonus points for what the ASA sees as “statutory or regulatory improvements.” We need to see more states follow the top five list rather than the bottom five. The laws of today must change to keep up with our society. Marijuana has the ability to do great things, while not killing you like prescription drugs do.



Source Article: High Times



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