
State Laws Addressing Discrimination against Medical Cannabis Patients
50-state surveyIssue BriefMarijuana LegalizationMechanisms for Advancing Health EquityThirty-six states and Washington, D.C. recognize medical cannabis as a lawful medication. However, the law in many of these states fails to adequately protect patients in their efforts to secure employment, enroll in school, rent a home, or even secure child custody or visitation rights. Treating medical cannabis patients differently from other patients is inherently discriminatory and produces harmful stigma, which creates negative short- and long-term health effects.