A study this week showed that there is a link between medical marijuana reducing the rate of opioid use.
By using data in states that have legalized medical marijuana, the University of Georgia study was able to find that there is a reduction in opioid use.
The study, which was published on Monday, looked at the number of opioid prescriptions filled for Medicare patients from 2010 to 2015 in states which legalized medical marijuana.
The study showed that prescriptions for all opioids decreased by 3.7 million daily doses per year when medical marijuana dispensaries opened. This represents nearly a 15% reduction.
“I think the research we’ve seen to date begs for more research” remarked Dale Woolery, Director of the Governor’s Office of Drug Control Policy.
He also said, “What I’ve read basically are conflicting studies, results that are inconclusive according to the study’s authors. Some suggesting that medical marijuana may assist in reducing opioid use or misuse or overdoses; and other studies suggesting that marijuana use may actually increase the use of opioids.”
“My hope is given the opioid epidemic and the interest there, that we’ll have either the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the FDA, the DEA, private entrepreneurs, will be doing more research” he concluded.
