Background
Because of its purported medicinal value, both the nationwide and worldwide popularity of legalizing cannabis for medical purposes has reached epic proportions. A 2010 Gallup poll found that approximately 70% of Americans are in favor of allowing doctors to prescribe cannabis to mitigate pain, whereas a survey of 1446 physicians from 72 countries revealed that 76% of the physicians supported the use of cannabis for medical purposes. Twenty states in the U.S. since 1999 and the District of Columbia have legalized the use of cannabis for medicinal purposes, and a number of additional states are expected to follow suit. The number of registered medical cannabis identification card holders in the United States (U.S.) as of April 2013 stands at 1,029,325, and this number is expected to grow in the coming years.
Debate as to whether the labeling of cannabis as non-harmful not only facilitates its acceptability, but also ameliorates the perceived riskiness of its use continues to escalate as more states allow medical cannabis use. Some argue that cannabis use is a tangible health risk, that alternative medications currently exist to deal with ailments typically treated with cannabis and that medical cannabis laws amplify the recreational use of cannabis in the population.
A number of studies find evidence that medical cannabis laws amplify cannabis use in the population, particularly among youth.