Number of Medical Marijuana Patients Declined Due to Recreational Marijuana, Reports Say
By Staff Writer | Apr 20, 2016 08:14 AM EDT
Upon legalization of medical marijuana, many became concerned if it will be used for the purpose of medicinal health or just an excuse to smoke pot legally. And since the two states, Colorado and Oregon, have already legalized marijuana, it seems that the suspicions could be legitimate.
According to Greenwave Advisors, there was a decline in the patient's growth where adult use marijuana legally. From 2014 to 2015, Colorado's recreational marijuana sales increased to 86% while medical marijuana sales rose only to 5%, Forbes reported.
"We were surprised to see the drop in patients, but it's long been suspected that some patients were really recreational users and the numbers seem to support it," said Matt Karnes, the founder and managing partner at Greenwave Advisors. He did offer that it could just be that patients prefer the ease and convenience of the retail stores. The average monthly revenue per medical use dispensary in Colorado only increased 3%, while recreational retail sales saw their revenue increase by 17%.
The same thing happened in Oregon where patient applications dropped for medical marijuana right after Measure 91 legalized the controversial plant. The application started to surge again but once a retail store opens, the application drops again.
As reported by abc NEWS, the count of patients being admitted at Colorado hospitals and emergency rooms after marijuana use increased significantly after the drug was legalized and sold at retail shops says a new report from the Colorado Department of Public Health.
In the financial ledger, the figure could show a precursor of years to come. Overall state revenue from taxes, licenses and fees boosted from $76 million in 2014 to $135 million in 2015. Revenue from excise tax was $35 million in 2015 committed to school capital construction. The numbers of licensed marijuana business in Colorado reached to 2,538 with about 70% are gathered in Denver, El Paso, Pueblo and Boulder counties, according to a report from inewsnetwork.
Marijuana legalization has its advantages and disadvantages. Entrepreneurs see it as a lucrative business and marijuana-dependent people will have no more difficulty having pot sessions. No wonder in the coming years, there will more patients of recreational marijuana than medical marijuana patients.