Americans have favorable beliefs about medical marijuana that aren’t yet supported by the scientific research, according to a new study from the Annuals of Internal Medicine.

Medical marijuana, and cannabis more broadly, is growing in popularity and approval. Business is booming (especially in California) and the US Food and Drug Administration just approved the first cannabis-derived drug. For the study, the authors surveyed about 16,000 Americans about their attitudes toward marijuana. Their results showed that 81 percent of the respondents believed that marijuana had at least one medical benefit, in areas such as pain management, treating diseases, and alleviating mental health problems.

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