Legal Marijuana Helps Reduce Opioid Dangers, Studies Reveal

Another day, another round of studies suggesting that legalizing marijuana can help mitigate the harms of the opioid epidemic.

This time, one study published Oct. 25, 2018, in the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence looked at how adult-use legalization impacted opioid prescriptions. And a separate research paper published Oct. 20, 2018, explored how medical cannabis dispensaries affect opioid overdoses.

Both studies bode well for reform advocates who’ve argued that legal marijuana can serve as a safer alternative to prescription painkillers. Here’s what you need to know about each new paper.

1. Adult-use legalization is associated with a decrease in the number of prescriptions, total doses and spending on opioids among Medicaid enrollees.

Researchers examined prescription data for Medicaid enrollees from 2010 to 2017. The team found “no evidence to support the concern that recreational marijuana legalization increased opioid prescriptions received by Medicaid enrollees.”

Rather, implementing a fully legal cannabis system in 2015 was linked to a 32 percent decrease in the total number of opioid prescriptions, a 30 percent decrease in the number of doses and a 31 percent decrease in spending on Schedule III opioids.

2. Deaths from opioid and heroin overdoses are lower in counties where medical cannabis dispensaries operate.

Looking at mortality data from 2009 to 2015, researchers found that counties with medical cannabis dispensaries experienced significantly lower rates of opioid and heroin overdoses, compared with counties without dispensaries.

Specifically, the average mortality rate for any opioid overdose increased by 0.37 per 100,000 people in counties without dispensaries from 2009 to 2015, while it increased by 0.07 per 100,000 in counties with dispensaries during the same time period. Prescription opioid mortality rates “increased by 0.05 [per 100,000]in dispensary-counties and rose by 0.2 [per 100,000]in non-dispensary counties,” according to the study.

Mortality rates associated with heroin overdoses increased by 0.61 per 100,000 people in counties with marijuana dispensaries, while increasing by nearly 1 per 100,000 in non-dispensary counties.

Both new studies come on the heels of yet another round of research on cannabis and opioids issues that came out earlier this month.

This article has been republished from Marijuana Moment under a content syndication agreement. Read the original article here.

Original Article Source: https://www.marijuana.com/news/2018/10/legal-marijuana-helps-reduce-opioid-dangers-studies-reveal/

Comments

Could CBD Lead To The Development Of Safer Antipsychotic Medications?

Antipsychotic medications are important for managing a number of different psychiatric ailments, including bipolar disorders, schizophrenia, and even dementia. These drugs can greatly improve the manageability of symptoms that often distort one’s experience of reality. They can also create major mood disruptions and lead to a number of behavioral and emotional difficulties. Antipsychotic and anti-psychosis medications can be life-changing for people with such disorders, enabling them to live more normal and manageable lives without their symptoms taking over. These drugs work by regulating neurotransmitters in the brain so that naturally occurring imbalances and dysfunctions no longer disrupt mental and emotional processes. Often, reaching this outcome is much easier said than done; it can take a lot of time to find courses and combinations of treatments that work. It’s sometimes necessary to make adjustments to find the right balance for the individual and it’s not unusual for outc...

Cannabis Watch: Canopy Growth To Book Charge Of Up To $568 Million As Marijuana Restructuring Continues

Canopy Growth Corp. said early Thursday it was halting a range of operations across three continents and expects its restructuring plans to result in a charge of up to C$800 million (567.9 million) in the fiscal fourth quarter. U.S.-traded shares US:CGC CA:WEED of the cannabis company fell 1.9% in afternoon trading. Canopy said it was selling operations in Africa, curtailing cultivation of hemp in the U.S. and Columbia, and shutting down an indoor production facility in Canada. The announcement will result in 85 job cuts, the company said. “When I arrived at Canopy Growth in January, I committed to conducting a strategic review in order to lower our cost structure and reduce our cash burn,” Canopy Chief Executive David Klein said in a statement. Read: As cannabis industry stays largely quiet on coronavirus, this CEO has been sounding the alarm Canopy’s restructuring announcement was expected by investors, Cowen analyst Vivien Azer wrote in a note to clients Thursday. Azer rate...

A Dozen US Governors Ask Congressional Leaders To Back Federal Marijuana Reform

A bipartisan coalition of 12 governors from states that have legalized medical or recreational cannabis sent a letter to congressional leaders, asking for their support in getting a major marijuana reform bill through the U.S. House and Senate. The governors of California, Colorado, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nevada, New York, North Dakota, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Utah, Vermont and Washington state are backing the STATES Act – which would codify in federal law that marijuana regulations are to be left to the states instead of the federal government – while also seeking protections on banking and tax issues for the MJ industry. “The STATES Act is not about whether marijuana should be legal or illegal; it is about respecting the authority of states to act, lead and respond to the evolving needs and attitudes of their citizens,” the governors wrote. The letter also expressed support for the SAFE Banking Act , which was approved in March by a House committee. Tha...

Norma Pence

Search This Blog