Phoenix Arizonas more than 114,000 medical marijuana patients smoked, ate or otherwise consumed more than 29 tons of the drug last year.
Thats more than half of a fully-loaded tractor trailer.
Or, looking at it another way, its the equivalent of more than 58,600 16-ounce bags of Oreos.
Thats a 52 percent increase in the amount of pot legally sold in 2015. And the 2015 numbers themselves were double the prior year.
Yavapai County has the highest number of per capita medical marijuana cardholders in Arizona.
What makes the 2016 figure even more amazing is that the number of medical marijuana users has increased in the past year by less than 35 percent.
Doing the math, that means the average medical marijuana user consumed just under eight ounces of the drug last year, though the odds are some smoked more and some smoked less.
Not surprisingly, half of the patients reside in Maricopa County, with Pima County far behind at 13 percent. That is followed with the 6,332 patients in Yavapai County about 5.5 percent of the total users even though its population is only slightly more than half of Pinal County.
And if the average price of an ounce of marijuana is in the $300 range, that means medical marijuana users spent more than $281 million on the drug.
The latest report from the state Department of Health Services also found that male patients statewide outnumber females by a margin of close to 2-1.
I suspect the high number of recovery homes in the Prescott area and our county is a contributing factor (to the high number of cards), said Sheila Polk, Yavapai county Attorney. The Arizona medical marijuana program lends itself to abuse and cards are very easy to obtain for anyone 18 years or over. The card is good for a year without any requirement that the patient visit the doctor during that period of time.
Polk said the program should be tightened up, but acknowledged that it isnt likely to happen.
It is very difficult to make changes to the law because it is voter-protected. The legislatures hands are tied in this regard, she said.
The clients at Yavapai Herbal Services, a dispensary in Prescott Valley, tend to skew older, said Cathy Taylor, manager at the store, and veterans make up a large portion of its customers.
Most of them talk of pain, she said, although she said medical marijuana is also used to treat post-traumatic stress disorder.
A spokesperson for the state Department of Health Services said the study did not address why there were higher numbers of cardholders in certain locations.
The 2010 voter-approved law allows those with specified medical conditions and a doctors recommendation to obtain up to 2 1/2 ounces of marijuana every two weeks.
Those conditions include glaucoma, seizures and nausea. And, more recently, the health department concluded that those suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder also can use the drug for treatment of their symptoms.
But the vast majority of people who have the state-issued ID cars have qualified under the broad catch-all category of chronic pain.
The health department has the figures because the 2010 law requires that medical marijuana users obtain their drugs from one of what are now 131 state-licensed dispensaries. The only exception is for those who live more than 25 miles away from a retail outlet, a figure that is only about 1 percent of the total.
Health department figures also show that the vast majority of what was purchased ― more than 90 percent ― was in the form of whole leaves and flowers that can be smoked or made into tea. About 6 percent is in the form of edibles like cookies and lollipops, with the balance in other forms like pills and liquids.
The report comes on the heels of voters narrowly defeating Proposition 205 which would have allowed any adult to use marijuana. Proponents have said they intend to try again, whether in 2018 or 2020.
Medical marijuana cardholders by county
County | Cardholders | Percent of residents
Yavapai 6,332 2.9%
Gila 1,170 2.2%
Coconino 2,815 2.0%
Mohave 4,212 2.0%
Maricopa 71,713 1.7%
Pima 15,409 1.5%
Pinal 6,157 1.5%
La Paz 295 1.4%
Navajo 1,573 1.4%
Cochise 1,690 1.3%
Greenlee 137 1.3%
Apache 777 1.1%
Graham 413 1.1%
Santa Cruz 351 0.7%
Yuma 1,334 0.6%
Source: Arizona Department of Health Services, Arizona Office of Economic Activity
(Specifically, number of cardholders comes from end-of-year report by Department of Health Services; population figures as of July 1, 2016; from Office of Economic Activity)
News Moderator: Katelyn Baker
Full Article: Yavapai County – Number 1 In Medical Marijuana
Author: Howard Fischer
Contact: 928-445-3333
Photo Credit: None Found
Website: The Daily Courier
