Medical Cannabis Edibles: Patient Use Patterns, Reasons of Use, and Perceived Efficacy among Adults in Florida

Tracy Qu
University of Florida

Co-authors: Tracy Qu¹, Juan Perez-Carreno¹, Yan Wang¹, Robert Cook¹, Catalina Lopez-Quintero^1
1University of Florida

Background: Among medical marijuana patients, cannabis edibles have grown in popularity, yet less is known about how use, dosing, and perceived effectiveness vary by edible type and reported reason for use. Florida’s medical marijuana program, one of the nation’s largest, offers a unique opportunity to examine these patterns using statewide patient-reported data.

Objectives: This study aims to characterize the sociodemographic profile of Florida patients who use medical cannabis edibles, identify patients’ self-reported reasons for use, and describe patterns of edible use and dosage across product types.

Methods: This study used cross-sectional survey data from the Medical Marijuana and Me (M³) Study (IRB202200068), conducted May–December 2022. Florida medical cannabis patients were recruited via convenience sampling at ten clinics statewide (N=632). Participants self-reported sociodemographics, edible type (gummies, cookies, capsules), frequency of use, average THC and CBD content per session, and reasons for and perceived outcomes. Analyses were restricted to the 344 participants reporting edible use (gummies, cookies, or capsules) within the 30 days preceding the survey.

Results: Among participants reporting edible use (n=344) the majority were female (68.3%), with a mean age of 45.4 years; most had at least some college education (85.2%) and reported at least good overall health (72.4%). Anxiety was the most common self-reported reason for use (63.1%), followed by chronic pain (43.0%) and depression (41.6%). Perceived efficacy varied by condition: edibles were rated most effective for chronic pain (53.4%) and insomnia (53.0%), and least effective for PTSD (30.3%). Gummies were the most popular and most frequently consumed edible type, with 30.5% of participants reporting almost daily or daily use versus 14.3% for capsules and 5.8% for cookies. Most participants reported low-dose THC use per session (≤10 mg, 57.3%), consistent with recommended clinical dosing guidance; yet awareness of cannabinoid content was uneven across compounds. Only 8.1% of participants were unaware of their THC dose, compared with 28.5% who did not know their CBD dose.

Conclusion: The Florida medical marijuana patients of this sample were predominantly female and middle-aged, and used edibles, most commonly gummies, primarily to manage anxiety, chronic pain, and depression. The disparity between THC and CBD awareness suggests a need for strategies to increase patient confidence in cannabinoid content. Limitations include convenience sampling, self-report bias, and a cross-sectional design, which may overestimate perceived efficacy, since patients who remain engaged in the medical marijuana program tend to report favorable outcomes.