A newly published paper examining the effects of adult-use marijuana legalization on opioid overdose deaths says there\u2019s a \u201cconsistent negative relationship\u201d between legalization and fatal overdoses, with more significant effects in states that legalized cannabis earlier in the opioid crisis.<\/p>\n
Authors of the new analysis, published to the preprint repository Social Science Research Network (SSRN), estimated that recreational marijuana legalization (RML) \u201cis associated with a decrease of approximately 3.5 deaths per 100,000 individuals.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOur findings suggest that broadening recreational marijuana access could help address the opioid epidemic,\u201d the report says. \u201cPrevious research largely indicates that marijuana (primarily for medical use) can reduce opioid prescriptions, and we find it may also successfully reduce overdose deaths.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFurther, this effect increases with earlier implementation of RML,\u201d authors wrote, \u201cindicating this relationship is relatively consistent over time.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nRecreational marijuana legalization \u201cleads to a consistent and statistically significant decrease in opioid overdose deaths.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
The paper, which has not been peer reviewed, is dated June 2023 but was not publicly released until authors posted it to SSRN earlier this month. It\u2019s authored by a five-person team from Texas Tech University, Angelo State University, Metropolitan State University, New Mexico State University and the libertarian think tank American Institute for Economic Research.<\/p>\n
The researchers said their study is the first to use a particular difference-in-differences approach with multiple time periods, which they refer to as the \u201cC&S approach\u201d after its designers, to examine opioid overdoses and marijuana legalization.<\/p>\n
\u201cAlthough the causal effects of marijuana legalization on opioid mortality rates is a well-examined topic, there is no general consensus on the direction and magnitude of its effects,\u201d the study says, noting that past research suggests that\u2019s in part because results are sensitive to the choice of time periods being analyzed. \u201cMost studies examining the effect of staggered marijuana legalization policies in the US suffer from this problem,\u201d it contends, \u201cwhich partly explains the inconsistent estimates.\u201d<\/p>\n
Using the C&S approach, authors said, enabled them to \u201cdraw a plausible causal link between RML adoption and opioid overdose death rates,\u201d which indicated \u201ca nearly immediate impact of RML adoption.\u201d<\/p>\n
Among a group of states that legalized adult-use cannabis earlier than others, \u201clegalization led to an immediate decline in opioid overdose death rates, which grew even stronger and persisted after five years,\u201d the team wrote. \u201cGroups that implemented RML in later years do not have as much post-treatment data, but their short-term trends are consistent with the effects in the first group of states.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFor later groups,\u201d they continued, \u201cRML was particularly effective three years after it went into effect, corroborating prior observations that there may be a lag time between the time of policy implementation and the action opening of recreational marijuana dispensaries.\u201d<\/p>\n
The study used overdose data from the Kaiser Family Foundation\u2019s State Health Facts database, which itself uses information provided by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). It acknowledges the analysis did not include hospitalizations, nonfatal overdoses or \u201cother abuse measures.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFurther, while many of our empirical findings are consistent and statistically significant,\u201d it notes, \u201cRML as a state-level policy began only 11 years ego, with many states implementing it in the last few years. This limits our ability to assess longer-term effects on opioid overdose deaths and related variables.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nevertheless, it says that states \u201ccontinue to implement RML and consider introducing legislation to grant those with opioid use disorder greater access to marijuana as a substitute, and our findings strongly suggest RML could help address opioid-related public health concerns.\u201d<\/p>\n
Further research, authors wrote in the new paper<\/a>, titled \u201cBecause I Got High? Recreational Marijuana Legalization\u2019s Impact on Opioid Overdose Deaths,\u201d could further use the C&S approach to examine cannabis legalization\u2019s effects on other opioid-related health impacts.<\/p>\n
\u201cSimilar methods can also be used to assess other pharmacological advancements or changes to health care policy to determine whether they also affect opioid access or use,\u201d they said.<\/p>\n
As for other research into legalization\u2019s effect on opioid use, a recently published study into prescription opioid use in Utah following the state\u2019s\u00a0legalization of medical marijuana<\/a> found that the availability of legal cannabis both reduced opioid use by patients with chronic pain and also helped drive down prescription overdose deaths statewide.<\/p>\n
Members of Utah\u2019s Medical Cannabis Policy Advisory Board heard a presentation on the research, which was prepared by the analytics firm Management Science Associates (MSA). Overall, results of the study indicated that \u201ccannabis has a substantial role to play in pain management and the reduction of opioid use,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs the medical community continues to seek safer pain management options,\u201d the Utah report concluded, \u201ccannabis may become a key component of treatment strategies, particularly for chronic pain patients.\u201d<\/p>\n
A study published in 2023 linked medical marijuana use to lower pain levels and reduced dependence on opioids<\/a>\u00a0and other prescription medications. Another, published by the American Medical Association (AMA) in February, found that chronic pain patients who received medical marijuana for longer than a month\u00a0saw significant reductions in prescribed opioids<\/a>.<\/p>\n
About\u00a0one in three chronic pain patients reported using cannabis<\/a>\u00a0as a treatment option, according to another AMA-published report last year. Most of that group said they used cannabis as a substitute for other pain medications, including opioids.<\/p>\n
Other research published last year found that\u00a0letting people buy CBD legally significantly reduced opioid prescription rates<\/a>, leading to 6.6 percent to 8.1 percent fewer opioid prescriptions.<\/p>\n
A 2022 research paper that analyzed Medicaid data on prescription drugs, meanwhile, found that legalizing marijuana for adult use was associated with\u00a0\u201csignificant reductions\u201d in the use of prescription drugs<\/a>\u00a0for the treatment of multiple conditions.<\/p>\n
A 2023 report linked state-level medical marijuana legalization to reduced opioid payouts to doctors<\/a>\u2014another datapoint suggesting that patients use cannabis as an alternative to prescription drugs when given legal access.<\/p>\n
Researchers in another study, published earlier this year, looked at opioid prescription and mortality rates in Oregon, finding that nearby access to retail marijuana moderately reduced opioid prescriptions<\/a>, though they observed no corresponding drop in opioid-related deaths.<\/p>\n
Other recent research also indicates that cannabis may be an effective substitute for opioids in terms of pain management.<\/p>\n
A report published recently in the journal BMJ Open, for instance, compared medical marijuana and opioids for chronic non-cancer pain and\u00a0found that cannabis \u201cmay be similarly effective and result in fewer discontinuations than opioids,\u201d<\/a>\u00a0potentially offering comparable relief with a lower likelihood of adverse effects.<\/p>\n
Separate research published earlier this year found that more than half (57 percent) of patients with chronic musculoskeletal pain said cannabis was more effective than other analgesic medications, while 40 percent reported\u00a0reducing their use of other painkillers since they began using marijuana<\/a>.<\/p>\n
Results of a yearlong study of prescribed medical marijuana for patients with chronic pain and mental health issues<\/a>, meanwhile, found an association between cannabis use and symptom improvement, with most side effects limited to dry mouth and sleepiness.<\/p>\n
\nFeds Feature Stoned Christmas Tree In New Ad Warning About Marijuana-Impaired Driving Around The Holidays<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n
The post Legalizing Marijuana Led To \u2018Immediate Decline\u2019 In Opioid Overdose Deaths In U.S. States, New Research Concludes<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n
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\nRead More: Legalizing Marijuana Led To \u2018Immediate Decline\u2019 In Opioid Overdose Deaths In U.S. States, New Research Concludes<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A newly published paper examining the effects of adult-use marijuana legalization on opioid overdose deaths says there\u2019s a \u201cconsistent negative relationship\u201d between legalization and fatal overdoses, with more significant effects in states that legalized cannabis earlier in the opioid crisis. Authors of the new analysis, published to the preprint repositoryContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[18,15462],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79542"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=79542"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79542\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":79543,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79542\/revisions\/79543"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=79542"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=79542"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=79542"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}