While medical programs in some states have shrunk as adult use programs boomed, there are still many advantages to being a medical patient. Patients usually qualify for lower prices due to less taxes or they may live in a state with a caregiver program.
And while adult use sales skyrocket, the numbers show that some states with adult use programs, like Maine and Michigan, still have very active medical programs.
Sales are promising too: For the states that have sales numbers publicly available, Grown In analyzed the average amount of money each patient spent in April 2022.
New England
The state with the most registered patients in New England is Maine, with 105,103 patients registered in 2022. Over 9% of the state’s population is made up of registered medical patients, according to regulators. Maine earned the highest rating for medical cannabis programs in the U.S., according to a report by Americans for Safe Access which suggests the high opt-in rate for patients is due to the expensive adult use cannabis. The state’s medical program was legalized in 1999, the oldest in the region.
Following closely behind is Massachusetts, with 96,999 active medical patients as of May 2022. Despite the high actual number of patients, the Bay State has a much larger overall population, so only 1.72% of the population is in the medical program. The state’s medical program was legalized in 2012.
In Rhode Island, over 2% of the population is registered in the medical program, which has 18,011 active patients. The state’s medical program was legalized in 2006.
New Hampshire has an estimated 13,000 people registered as medical patients in 2022, or 1.15% of the population. The state’s medical program was legalized in 2013.
Midwest
In the Midwest, Missouri had the highest percentage of medical cannabis patients, at 4.31%. The high participation may be due to the state’s patient laws, a doctor may prescribe cannabis use for any reason they see fit. The average amount each patient spent at retailers in April was $177. There are 206,606 registered patients in the state. Its medical program was legalized in 2018.
MIchigan had 228,656 – the highest patient numbers in the region, nearly 3% of the population. Yet, the average amount spent per patient in April was $118, the lowest in the region that month. The state’s adult use program has been booming, and since a giant croptober last year, adult use prices have plunged to about half of last year’s prices, eviscerating medical sales. Michigan’s medical program began in 2008.
There are 141,856 registered patients in Ohio, or 1.54% of the population. The average medical patient spent $339 in the month of April, the highest in the region. The state’s medical program was legalized in 2016.
1.36% of Illinois’ population is enrolled in the medical marijuana program – the lowest in the region. The average patient spent $235 in April in the medical program, which began in 2013.
Mid Atlantic
Pennsylvania had the highest number of registered patients in the New England, Midwest, and Mid-Atlantic region, with 406,454 active patients as of May 2022. Nearly 4% of the population is a registered medical cannabis patient, the highest in the region. The state’s medical program was legalized in 2016.
Coming up next is Maryland, where 3.22% of the population is a registered medical marijuana patient. There are 155,081 active patients in the medical program as of May 2022, which began in 2013.
New Jersey had 130,097 registered patients as of May 2022; 1.79% of the state’s population. New Jersey legalized medical marijuana in 2010, the oldest in the region.
New York had the lowest percent of the population over 18 registered as a medical marijuana patient, at 0.77% or 122,161 – which is perhaps evidence of the state’s struggle with a strong underground market. The state’s medical program was legalized in 2014.
