As marijuana has become more ubiquitous, the percentage of people who perceive marijuana to be high risk has decreased since 2002 (41.6% to 26.1%) while the percentage of people who perceive it to be low risk has increased (16.8% to 35.8%).
We believe that the “medical marijuana” nomenclature provides marijuana with a medical legitimacy it may not deserve that favorably compares it to other medicines that have been researched for years and undergone clinical trials. This has the effect of confusing members of the general public into thinking medical marijuana has the same controls and regulations applied to it as any other drug.