Doctors Want Medical Marijuana Legal at a Higher Rate Than Consumers

A recent survey by WebMD found that 69 percent of health professionals said marijuana “can help with certain treatments and conditions.” The finding is surprising in contrast to the consumers’ response to the question, which only yielded a 52 percent approval of the notion.

The numbers continued to climb when the results were narrowed by the doctor’s specialty. “Oncologists and hematologists showed the highest level, with 82% saying marijuana delivers real benefits to patients.” Of course, these doctors have a high percentage because medical marijuana has a long history of being used to treat cancer pain and nausea related to chemotherapy; it has also been used to stimulate appetite.

The survey also looked at how much doctors and the general public favor legalizing medical marijuana, which still showed doctors at a higher rate, but just incrementally.

WebMD’s survey questioned 1,544 doctors and 2,960 people from the general public between Feb. 23 and Feb. 26, 2014 nationwide.

Here are the findings:

 Doctors:

• 69% say it can help with certain treatments and conditions.
• 67% say it should be a medical option for patients.
• 56% support making it legal nationwide.
• 50% of doctors in states where it is not legal say it should be legal in their states.
• 52% of doctors in states considering new laws say it should be legal in their states.

Consumers:

• 50% support making it legal nationwide.
• 49% of consumers in states where it is not legal say it should be legal in their states.
• 52% say it can help with treatments and conditions.
• 45% say the benefits outweigh the risks.