A recent look at MMJ demographics

The website HelloMD recently surveyed 1,400 Medical Marijuana patients ages 18-80 and the demographic results might be surprising to some. Long has the slothful, demotivated, stoner stereotype plagued the legitimate Cannabis movement. Odds are, you know a successful person who consumes MMJ, they just haven't told you about it.

Before we get into the fun data, we would like to offer a thought of warning about services like that offered by HelloMD. It, like many other businesses in states with incomplete Medical Marijuana regulatory structure, exploits the intent. Nearly anyone can go to this website, pay $50, have a doctor exam (online) and then be given an authorized recommendation for Medical Marijuana. Ultimately, this leads to unrealistic legislative regulations and restrictions. The patients with true medical needs suffer because of the "fast and loose" attitudes of some profit driven businesses. Our home state of Washington is a perfect example of that exact scenario. The same unfortunate regulations to the voter approved Medical Marijuana programs are currently taking shape in Colorado and Oregon. In short, true advocates would not allow exploitive businesses to take root and undermine the benefits of MMJ to real patients.

Regardless of their MO, it's still interesting to see who is applying for these Medical Marijuana recommendations. According to this survey, nearly 85% had some form of higher education and nearly 15% held a postgraduate degree. Curiously, 45% reported as being parents. This does not say if they still lived with children in the home, but overall, we thought it was an interesting statistic.

While we all can concede, this is but a snapshot of the bigger picture, it does indicate that not all Medical Marijuana consumers are lazy, tuned-out, youth. The statistics come as no surprise in the fact that more people from higher professions are becoming comfortable with the newly found legal status of Cannabis in their state. With the legality, increased research and the fading of social stigma, we can only anticipate these numbers to rise. We also fully expect to see the trend of adults 50+ as the largest demographic entering into the MMJ experience.

#health #mmjfacts