So often, the discussion over medical cannabis legalization gets bogged down in politics. And it’s not just the politics of government we have to contend with. It is also the politics of medicine. But when you get right down to it, the real-life people on main street are the ones most affected by medical cannabis legalization.

How do those people feel about it? The Daily Utah Chronicle (DUC) wanted to know, so they started asking. In a post published this past spring, they offered the thoughts of several medical cannabis users along with some Utah providers. Their thoughts tell the whole story.

Persistent Pain and PTSD

Utah currently boasts more than 80,000 medical cannabis cardholders. According to the providers interviewed by the DUC, persistent pain and PTSD are the two most common conditions for which people use medical cannabis. That comports with the experiences of Zion Medicinal, a medical cannabis pharmacy serving Cedar City and St. George.

One of the patients interviewed by DUC staff experiences persistent pain due to a combination of lupus and scleroderma. She says that using cannabis takes the edge off the pain, allows her to focus on other things, and helps her sleep through the night.

Her thoughts on medical cannabis are important to consider in the debate over whether marijuana does anything for pain on a biological or physiological level. The fact is that it works for her and millions of others who have tried other therapies – including OTC and prescription meds – without success.

Breaking the PTSD Cycle

The DUC also spoke briefly with a PTSD patient. He recounted how PTSD can lead to a physical, mental, and emotional cycle of trauma and hopelessness that never seems to end. He told the DUC that medical cannabis has helped him break that cycle.

Just as with persistent pain, there is some medical debate over how cannabis actually helps. It is fine for that debate to continue. Yet the fact remains that millions of people around the country are successfully using medical cannabis to treat PTSD.

More Accepted in the Culture

Cannabis, or marijuana if you will, has long had a stigma attached to it. The stigma dates to the 1970s and the belief that marijuana could make people psychotic. Even when Utah voters approved Proposition 2 back in 2018, marijuana’s stigma was alive and well. That is changing.

Medical cannabis enjoys considerably more cultural acceptance in 2024. That’s largely due to the fact that more than three dozen states have now given it the green light. With millions of patients using medical cannabis across the nation, just about everyone knows someone who uses it in some way, shape, or form.

The interesting thing is that medical cannabis does not always equate to patients smoking joints with the light down and the shades drawn. And in fact, many states (Utah included) do not allow smoking medical cannabis. Patients use vapes, tinctures, edible products, and even creams and lotions.

Furthermore, not all medical cannabis products contain THC. That is because some people respond better to CBD. So there are medical products out there that people can take without getting high.

It is Not Just Theory

Politicians and bureaucrats are likely to debate the merits of cannabis legalization for the foreseeable future. Much of the debate will center around what I like to refer to as marijuana theory. But what happens on main street every day of the week is not just theory. It is real life experience that should not be discounted by politicians, medical providers, scientists, or anyone else for that matter.