92 percent of medical marijuana patients say the drug relieved their symptoms

A new study from the Public Health Institute found that 92 percent of California residents who use medical marijuana say the drug has helped them with their symptoms.

The study's results are in stark contrast with the statements of some opponents of marijuana legalization, including former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who called medical marijuana "one of the greatest hoaxes of all time." The research comes from the California Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, which surveyed 7,525 adults in California. The Public Health Institute produced the study in partnership with the CDC, The Washington Post reports.

The study noted that medical marijuana patients are given the drug to treat symptoms from a variety of ailments, including chronic pain, arthritis, migraines, and cancer. Five percent of California adults use medical marijuana to treat "serious medical conditions," according to the study. White adults and adults aged 18 to 24 were the most common users among respondents, but each age and racial group that responded to the survey had at least a two percent medical marijuana usage rate.

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"Our study contradicts commonly held beliefs that medical marijuana is being overused by healthy individuals," the study authors said in a statement. "Our study's results lend support to the idea that medical marijuana is used equally by many groups of people and is not exclusively used by any one specific group."