Here’s how many medicare patients use marijuana, even though it’s not covered

Medicare users are over the age of 65, a demographic that coincides with a lot of medical marijuana users.

A new report shows that Medicare users and medical marijuana patients have a lot in common. According to a survey reported by U.S. News, 1 in every 5 Medicare patients use medical cannabis. Cannabis is not covered by Medicare in any state. The survey, which was conducted on 1,250 Medicare recipients, also found that 23% of them had used cannabis in the past. Out of all recipients, 21% of them use medical cannabis to treat an ailment.

According to the survey, patients used medical marijuana primarily to treat anxiety, closely followed by chronic pain. Other conditions that were submitted include depression, glaucoma, symptoms of HIV, like nausea, depression, and more. Two-thirds of respondents said they agreed with a statement that said that medical marijuana should be covered by Medicare.

Interestingly enough, current medical marijuana users aren’t too keen on having Medicare cover cannabis. They believe Medicare coverage could increase the price of the product, resulting in them paying more in the long run for the product they want to consume.

Lastly, 31% of Medicare users oppose Medicare’s coverage of marijuana, quoting a lack of research and knowledge on the drug as the main reason for their reticence.

Medicare is federal health insurance for people over the age of 65, a demographic that includes a lot of medical marijuana users. In recent years, seniors have increased their medical marijuana use steadily, coinciding with the legalization of cannabis across the country.

While Medicare tends to cover medicines like narcotics, something that’s different from cannabis’ more naturalistic bend, its coverage would mean a lot for the cannabis community as a whole and would add some validity to its medicinal use. Still, there’s a long road ahead, and more research and a more stable industry are needed before taking such big steps.