Arkansas Medical Marijuana Certifications: Higher-Volume Physicians Associated With Less Evidence Of Care Coordination – Health Affairs Journal

Health Affairs March 1, 2025
Joseph W. Thompson, Brad Martin, Anthony Goudie, Nichole Stanley, Katerina Noori, Teresa Hudson

Abstract

Patients’ access to medical marijuana has dramatically increased despite the lack of Food and Drug Administration approval. In this study, we profiled individuals and the conditions for which they were certified for medical marijuana, and we examined the evidence of coordination with their physicians providing traditional care. Within two years of initiation, medical marijuana was approved for 3.4 percent of Arkansans ages eighteen and older by 12.5 percent of physicians who had an active license in the state. Posttraumatic stress disorder and four pain diagnoses were the most frequent qualifying conditions. We observed care coordination among low-volume certifying physicians, with a majority having...

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