Despite the federal prohibition on all cannabis use, 35 states have legalized its use for medicinal purposes. An estimated two to three million patients nationwide are currently enrolled in those states’ medical cannabis programs. The federal government is also relaxing its approach to regulation and enforcement as the pool of patients on medical marijuana expands.
But among health care system stakeholders, some of the most resistant to these trends have been health care facilities themselves, the vast majority of which do not even allow patients to bring their own therapy onto their premises. We think that should change—and that organizations who lead in accommodating patients on medical cannabis stand to enhance both quality of care and market competitiveness.
Perspectives From New Jersey
Since early 2018, the New Jersey Department of Health—where we serve as commissioner (Elnahal) and assistant commissioner (Brown)—has been on a mission to reform the way our state treats medical cannabis. Through a series of reforms, New Jersey has increased enrollment from 17,000 in January 2018 to more than 50,000 patients as of July 2019. During this time frame, New Jersey also doubled the number of dispensary licenses and doubled the number of participating physicians. Through that experience, we have seen that cannabis is a vital medicine for many patients, and much research speaks to its efficacy for pain and other conditions. Despite these trends, the traditional health care system has been unaccommodating—at best—to the use of medical cannabis, and antagonistic at worst.
That’s unfortunate because there are a number of important reasons these health care facilities should be better at accommodating medical cannabis patients.