Cannabis sales and consumption are up, doctor offers analysis

FOX 2 -
The use of cannabis for medical and recreational reasons is rising in the United States.

In 2022, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says more than 60 million Americans used cannabis. Research from University of Michigan found that more than four million were licensed medical cannabis patients – a six-fold increase from 2016

A U-M researcher who studies cannabis says that in many states where it is not legal, unlike Michigan, people may turn to emerging cannabinoid products that have fewer safety guardrails in place.

"Compounds like Delta HTHC which are derived from hemp and not regulated under the controlled substances act or state marketplace, the use of these has gone up substantially," said Kevin Boehnke, PhD U-M. "And these products actually have similar effects to what we consider THC or Delta-9 THC found in cannabis, but they just are not regulated in the same way at all, and might have issues with contamination, as well as an accurate labeling."

Currently marijuana is labeled as a Schedule One drug, the most restrictive class. But there is talk of it potentially being rescheduled to a Schedule Three drug.

Boehnke says while this would acknowledge the medical value of cannabis, it still restricts some of the research that can be done on the drug.

"So rescheduling cannabis from Schedule One to Schedule Three would mean that instead of being in the most restrictive class of drugs, which means it has no accepted medical use," he said. "This designation would effectively acknowledge, hey, cannabis, does have medical value. and we should think about it in this way, instead of solely treating it as a drug of abuse."

Studies have shown that the majority of cannabis users do it for chronic pain.