66% Of Medicare Recipients Support Medical Marijuana Coverage: How Many Are Using Pot, And What For?

The House of Representatives approved the Marijuana Opportunity, Reinvestment, and Expungement (MORE) Act April 1, sending it to the Senate, a move that signals possible marijuana reform.

Most industry experts agree that reform is highly unlikely to occur this year.

At the same time, more and more states are enabling marijuana access, with 37 states across the U.S. having some form of a legal medical marijuana program.

With so many states enabling legal access to medical cannabis and possible reform on the horizon, what seems to be the problem?

Well, despite those legal medical marijuana markets, cannabis remains illegal on the federal level, being classified as a Schedule 1 substance, or in other words, it it is viewed as having no accepted medical value and high abuse potential. This means that health insurance doesn’t cover medical marijuana. 

How many Medicare recipients actually use marijuana? Should Medicare expand its coverage to include cannabis? 

To find out how recipients of a government national health insurance program in the United States feel about these questions, MedicarePlans.com conducted a survey questioning 1,250 people 65 and older. The survey revealed, among other things, that seniors are using medical marijuana to treat a plethora of conditions.

Key Takeaways 

• One in five Medicare recipients (or 21%) use medical marijuana (some 23% have used it in the past);
• 66% of Medicare recipients "strongly agree" or "agree" that Medicare should cover medical marijuana;
• 38% of Medicare recipients who use medical marijuana don’t want Medicare to cover for it out of fear of this causing higher prices;
• 59% of those who support Medicare coverage for medical cannabis say it’s because cannabis can be effective when other treatments aren’t. 

Other Findings

• Medicare recipients who identify as Democrats are more likely than Republicans to use medical marijuana.
• 32% of Medicare recipients who use medical marijuana are doing so to treat anxiety, while 31% are using it to deal with chronic pain. 
• Roughly one-fourth of medical marijuana users are turning to the substance to treat depression, glaucoma and symptoms associated with HIV/AIDS, including nausea, appetite loss and pain.
• Half of the users report spending up to $200 per month, while 36% spend between $201 and $500 per month. 14% say they spend over $500 each month on medical marijuana.

Photo: Courtesy of humberto chavez on Unsplash.