This post explores the current laws on medical marijuana and reviews benefits and drawback for management of symptoms associated with Alzheimer’s Disease. While there is currently no evidence to show cannabis can stop, reverse, or prevent dementia, the drug may be useful in relieving dementia-related symptoms.
Medical marijuana is currently legal in 40 states, three territories, and the District of Columbia. There are numerous tele-health services available to get a medical marijuana card in Pennsylvania. Qualifying conditions for prescribed use include everything from cancer and HIV/aids to Tourette syndrome and glaucoma.
In Pennsylvania, once your doctor approves you for a medical marijuana card, your certification of need is sent to the PA Department of Health for final approval. A note of caution, however, is merited because federal law supersedes state law, and therefore people “could” potentially be arrested and charged with having marijuana even where state laws permit recreational or medical marijuana use.
While federal law does not allow the use of the whole marijuana plant or its parts for any purpose, cannabidiol (CBD) from the hemp plant is legal under federal law. Marijuana and hemp are both derivations of the same cannabis sativa plant, but they are regulated differently. This is because hemp has less than 0.3% delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (Delta 9 THC) while marijuana plants can have between 1% and 20% Delta 9 THC, the chemical that causes feelings of sociability, happiness, and relaxation. The recently passed bill that reopened the federal government in November 2025 included a provision altering the exemption for hemp. Unless legislation changes, hemp will also be federally illegal after November 2026.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has not approved the use of the cannabis plant as a treatment for any medical condition. However, the FDA has approved medications containing individual compounds. Epidiolex, which contains CBD, is used to treat two severe forms of epilepsy. Marinol and Syndros contain synthetic THC and are used to treat nausea, and vomiting caused by cancer treatment, anorexia, and other conditions.
The most common classes of medications currently being used to treat the neuropsychiatric symptoms (NPS) of dementias are antipsychotics and antiepileptics. Side effects of these medications include falls and cerebrovascular events, though clinical use has been limited by poor tolerability and the potential for drug interactions. The hope is that marijuana, properly prescribed and used, could avoid severe reactions.
In an eight-year long study published in 2024 by the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and Tufts University School of Medicine, researchers found that a pill form of CBD reduced agitation in patients with Alzheimer’s by an average of 30%; however, this study was limited to seventy-five patients. Most side effects of the pill were mild, such as fatigue and excessive sleepiness although some studies have reported changes in blood pressure, balance, and an increased incidence of infections.
There have been an increasing number of studies conducted each year. These studies are diverse in their methods and tools, making it difficult to generalize results. Additionally, researchers caution that some studies have been “limited by inadequately described comorbidities and medication use making it difficult to determine if cannabinoids were the only contributing factor to improvement in NPS of dementia.”
At the end of the first 25 years of the 21st Century, it appears that even as some positive news is being reported on marijuana use for Alzheimer’s patients, careful consideration of goals and risk factors must be undertaken before prescribing. Medical marijuana should be used with caution, with the informed consent of the patient and their medical representative, and under the close supervision of the patient’s medical team.
