Medical Marijuana Curbing Opioid Abuse Epidemic in the US, Study Reveals
Medical Marijuana Significantly Impacts Rising Opioid Abuse in US
Medical marijuana may be helping in the decrease of the opioid abuse epidemic in the US, according to a study.
Opioid abuse is a rising drug epidemic in the US and the states that approved medical marijuana to be legal have lower rates of incidents. More specifically, states that have legalized medical marijuana have lower fatal car accident rates linked to drug abuse.
Medical Marijuana May Decrease Opioid Abuse Consequences in US?
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A new study found that the 25 US states that legalized medical marijuana have lesser car accidents and lower opioid abuse rates than the other states where it hasn't been legalized, US News & World Report noted.
Study author June Kim said that the legalization and subsequent implementation of medical marijuana has lessened the chances of opioid abuse. This means that medical marijuana was sought more than opioid painkillers like oxycodone (OxyContine) and hydrocodone (Vicodin). These painkillers are reportedly addictive which led to people abusing them, causing dire consequences like car accidents, coma and death.
Car Accidents Linked to Opioid Abuse Common in States with No Legal Medical Marijuana
In their research, the scientists looked at the traffic trends and fatalities from 1999 to 2013 in 18 states in the US. They found that more than 30 percent of traffic accidents and fatalities occurred in states that didn't approve medical marijuana. Around 5 to 8 percent of drivers involved in the accident were found to have been using opioid painkillers at the time. The details of the study were detailed in the American Journal of Public Health.
However, there were limitations to the study as it did not state whether the drivers involved in accidents also had other drugs in their system like marijuana. The study researchers also explained that opioid painkillers might not be the direct cause of the car accidents.
The Chicago Tribune reports that the study provides further proof that people may opt for medical marijuana instead of opioid painkillers if they are legalized. This means that medical marijuana may help curb the rising epidemic of opioid painkiller prescription abuse and addiction in the US.
Most medical marijuana users are patients who are 21-45 years old as most laws of medical weed in the US only allow those above 21. However, older adults may opt to use legal pot for painkillers instead of opioids in the future, Kim said as noted by Live Science.
