A study published Tuesday in the Annals of Internal Medicine found the number of clinicians authorized to approve medical cannabis in the U.S. was more than 35,000 in 2024, while the number of state-approved medical cannabis caregivers was nearly 110,000.
For the study, researchers from the University of Michigan collected publicly available data from state medical cannabis programs between 2020 and 2024 to estimate the number of clinicians authorized to approve medical cannabis use and the number of registered caregivers. The number of clinicians permitted to authorize medical cannabis use for patients was about 29,500 in 2020 before increasing to more than 35,000 four years later.
“Overall, there were approximately 3-fold higher number and 4-fold higher rate of caregivers per patient than authorizing clinicians. This may reflect caregivers’ direct involvement in medical cannabis care, as they can purchase, grow, and produce cannabis for patients – services that authorized clinicians cannot legally provide.” — “U.S. Authorizing Clinicians and Medical Cannabis Caregivers: 2020-2024,” Annals of Internal Medicine, 9/29/26
The researchers found higher caregiver rates in states that allow home cultivation of medical cannabis and in states with adult-use programs.
The study is believed to be the first to estimate the number of medical cannabis caregivers in the U.S.
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