{"id":2411,"date":"2018-04-13T05:47:50","date_gmt":"2018-04-13T12:47:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dispensaries.com\/blog\/?p=2411"},"modified":"2018-04-13T07:19:15","modified_gmt":"2018-04-13T14:19:15","slug":"opioid-use-drops-with-legal-weed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dispensaries.com\/blog\/opioid-use-drops-with-legal-weed\/","title":{"rendered":"Opioid Use Drops In States With Legal Marijuana"},"content":{"rendered":"

Two new studies show that when states legalize marijuana, they eventually will see opioid use drop.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s a result many states have an interest in getting. Opioid use has become an epidemic – literally, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention – and government leaders are looking for ways to at least reduce the problem.<\/p>\n

Reducing Opioid Use<\/h2>\n

One answer could come with voting \u201cyes\u201d at the ballet box on legal medical marijuana, according to the studies.<\/p>\n

The findings seem to hinge on the fact that many people are willing to substitute cannabis<\/a> for opioids when treating issues with pain. And since most of those who abuse opioids start with a medical prescription, never getting that first prescription means less chance of abusing the powerful drug.<\/p>\n

\u201cMuch Less Risky\u201d<\/h3>\n

In one study<\/a>, conducted by W. David Bradford, a professor of public policy at the University of Georgia, along with three colleagues, opioid use dropped significantly in states where medical marijuana was available for pain among those paying through Medicare.<\/p>\n

Overall, it was a 14 percent drop. Bradford wrote in the report that the findings \u201cstrengthen arguments in favor of considering medical applications of cannabis as one tool in the policy arsenal that can be used to diminish the harm of prescription opioids.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bradford told<\/a> National Public Radio that it\u2019s worth pursuing marijuana as pain medication because cannabis is \u201cmuch less risky\u201d than opioids and \u201ccertainly there\u2019s not mortality risk.\u201d<\/p>\n

Not The Only Answer<\/h3>\n

At the University of Kentucky, a similar study looked at opioid use for Medicaid participants. Medicare primarily deals with the elderly, while Medicaid is for low-income Americans. The Kentucky study noted<\/a> that opioid use and abuse is higher in the lower income demographic.<\/p>\n

While the study concluded that legalized marijuana could potentially be one factor in reducing opioid use, it needs to be part of a comprehensive package. \u201cMarijuana liberalization alone cannot solve the opioid epidemic,\u201d the report stated.<\/p>\n

Mark Olfson, a professor of psychiatry and epidemiology at Columbia University, told<\/a> NPR more study is needed. However, he said that\u2019s difficult to accomplish because marijuana remains illegal under federal law and there are tight controls around research into cannabis.<\/p>\n

Studies like the ones from Georgia and Kentucky will continue to get attention because of the serious nature of the opioid epidemic. The CDC reports that of the more than 63,600 drug overdose deaths in the U.S. in 2016, 66 percent involved opioids. They now estimate that 115 Americans die every day from an opioid overdose.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Opioid use has been a major focus in the news, but what you may not have heard is that where marijuana is legal, opioid use has dropped. How are they related and what does it mean for you?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":2412,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[119,237,363,364],"yoast_head":"\nOpioid Use Drops In States With Legal Marijuana | Pot vs. Pills<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Opioid use has been a major focus in the news, but what you may not have heard is that where marijuana is legal, opioid use has dropped. 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