Walgreens Broaches Topic of Medical Cannabis On Its Blog

Walgreens, the nation’s largest drugstore chain, has dipped its toes into the cannabis conversation through an unexpected article about medical marijuana on its health and wellness blog.

The blog post, entitled “What is Medical Marijuana,” is far from a ringing endorsement of MMJ. But it’s noteworthy because the company essentially acknowledged that cannabis has medical benefits, a potential plus for the medical marijuana industry. And it’s another sign of how far cannabis has moved into the mainstream in recent years.

“Though marijuana has been approved for medical use in many states, marijuana is not yet approved for national use by the Food and Drug Administration,” a resident pharmacist at the company wrote in the  blog post. “However, research has also shown marijuana provides pain relief in ways traditional pain medicines don’t.”

The article, basically a primer on MMJ, outlines how medical cannabis works, what it’s typically used to treat, and even suggests: “If you’d like more information about the use of medical marijuana, talk with your doctor.”

A company spokesman told the Huffington Post that the article was “strictly informative,” and is not intended to indicate that Walgreens is interested in entering the marijuana trade.