Marijuana use common in sickle cell patients, highlighting need for more research, study shows

  Many sickle cell disease (SCD) patients use marijuana for its medicinal benefits, according to an anonymous survey by researchers from Yale New Haven Hospital and Yale University. These results show that there is a need to study the effects of marijuana on these patients and to consider whether sickle cell disease should be included in the list of conditions that can be legally treated with medical marijuana, the researchers suggest. The study, “Marijuana Use in Adults Living with Sickle Cell Disease,” was published in the journal Cannabis And Cannabinoid Research. In the U.S., the medical use of marijuana to alleviate pain caused by several health conditions is now legal in many states. However, only three states — Connecticut, Ohio, and Pennsylvania — include sickle cell disease as an approved health condition for medical marijuana.