Is Medical Marijuana Effective?

The medical marijuana industry in the United States has grown rapidly over the past few years as more and more companies claim the drug could be effective in combating certain illnesses and easing the symptoms of chronic diseases. However, as the marijuana industry has grown, so has the list of ailments the drug claims to alleviate, something new research suggests may not be accurate.

Legalization Spreads

Marijuana supporters say cannabis can be used to help people suffering from everything from post-traumatic stress disorder to chronic anxiety. Many say it can be beneficial to cancer patients whose adverse reactions to chemotherapy can be relieved using cannabis products. It's those claims that have led 23 states and the District of Colombia to legalize medicinal marijuana use.

Related Link: Retirees Represent Major Marijuana Market

New Research

Opponents of marijuana legalization are now pointing to a study from June 2015 published in the Journal of the American Medical Association in which two Yale University researchers claim that marijuana may not be as beneficial as was previously believed.

The researchers analyzed the results of 79 studies to find that the drug was often ineffective or minimally effective in comparison to a placebo treatment. The research indicated that problems like chronic pain and symptoms associated with multiple sclerosis (which GW Pharmaceuticals PLC- ADR GWPH has been at the forefront of) can be treated using marijuana, but that it wasn't very effective in treating things like anxiety or nausea from chemotherapy treatments.

What Does It Mean?

The study doesn't suggest that marijuana is an ineffective treatment for all ailments, but it does question the reliability of claims that it can be used for a broad range of indications. While the study will provide support to critics of the cannabis industry, many believe that much of medical marijuana's future is riding on the 2016 presidential elections, as the incoming administration will have the power to loosen federal laws and allow the industry to grow, or shut down marijuana trade in the US completely.