(Number of Medical Marijuana Users in Canada) "Among those who used cannabis, 17.7% (representing about 420,000 Canadians or 1.6% of the Canadian population aged 15 years and older) reported doing so for medical purposes. Prevalence of use for medical purposes was similar between male and female cannabis users (17.3% versus 18.4%, respectively), while more than one in five (21.8%) cannabis users aged 25 years and older reported using it for medical purposes, representing 1.5% of all adults in this age group.

“Vaporization as a ‘Smokeless’ Cannabis Delivery System”
Donald Abrams, M.D., University of California, San Francisco

“Short-Term Effects of Cannabis Therapy on Spasticity in Multiple-Sclerosis”
Jody Corey-Bloom, M.D., University of California, San Diego

(cannabis and neuropathic pain) “A Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Crossover Trial of the Antinociceptive Effects of Smoked Marijuana on Subjects with Neuropathic Pain“
"Barth Wilsey, M.D., University of California, Davis"

Other Laws & Policies

(Global Prevalence of Cannabis Use) "Cannabis use has increased globally, particularly in Asia since 2009. Although epidemiological data is not available, experts from the region report a perceived increase in use. The regions with a prevalence of cannabis use that is higher than the global average continue to be West and Central Africa (12.4 per cent), Oceania (essentially Australia and New Zealand, 10.9 per cent), North America (10.7 per cent) and Western and Central Europe (7.6 per cent).

"Although Raich established Congress’s constitutional authority to enact the existing federal prohibition on marijuana, principles of federalism prevent the federal government from mandating that the states support or participate in enforcing the federal law. While state resources may be helpful in combating the illegal use of marijuana, Congress’s ability to compel the states to enact similar criminal prohibitions, to repeal medical marijuana exemptions, or to direct state police officers to enforce the federal law remains limited.

(Support for Legalized Sale of Marijuana in the US Among Youth, 2011) "Asked whether they thought it should be legal to sell marijuana if it were legal to use it, about three in five (62%) said 'yes.' However, about 80% of those answering 'yes' (51% of all respondents) would permit sale only to adults. A small minority (11%) favored the sale to anyone, regardless of age, while 28% said that sale should not be legal even if use were made legal, and 10% said they 'don’t know.'"

(Legal Definition of Personal Use and Allowable Amounts of Cultivated Cannabis) "Policy changes in Belgium in relation to cannabis use, possession and cultivation may also have had some impact on the shift in production from the Netherlands to Belgium. In 2001, the Belgian government agreed to stop prosecution for use of cannabis and cultivation of cannabis for personal use, on the grounds that it did not constitute a nuisance and was not problematic (Decorte, 2007). However, it was not until 2003 that guidelines outlining what was permitted were implemented.

(Teen Marijuana Use in Medical Marijuana States) "Our results are not consistent with the hypothesis that the legalization of medical marijuana caused an increase in the use of marijuana and other substances among high school students. In fact, estimates from our preferred specifications are consistently negative and are never statistically distinguishable from zero."