Marijuana may be helping to overcome painkiller abuse in America

[n2doc]

by Katherine Ellen Foley

It’s yet another feather in the cap of those who champion legalizing pot in the US.

In a working paper published by the National Bureau of Economic Research (paywall), researchers observed that in US states with medical marijuana dispensaries, the number of admissions to rehabilitation facilities for pain medication and opioid overdoses has decreased by 15% and 16% respectively.

Other studies have looked at the relationship between legal marijuana use and opioid overdose, but this is the first study to track addiction to opioids as well.

Researchers examined the number of patients admitted to treatment centers in the US for painkiller addiction from 1992 to 2013; opioid-related deaths from 1999 to 2013; and the amount of prescription opioids legally sold to each US state from 2000 to 2011. They found that in states that maintain medical marijuana dispensaries, opioid painkillers are being prescribed at a similar rate to those state without marijuana dispensaries.

more
http://qz.com/452209/marijuana-may-be-helping-to-overcome-painkiller-abuse-in-america/

[randys1]

1. Speed works even better for pain, JFK used it.

You could use Dexedrine for pain relief and it would be great.

[99th_Monkey]

2. But highly addictive, unlike the Evil Weed. nt

[msongs]

3. doctors will lose their kickbacks for prescribing pain killers. bummer nt