A report published this morning (April 2, 2018) in the prestigious journal, Journal of the American Medical Association, revealed that opioid prescriptions drop when states legalize medicinal cannabis. The researchers found that opioid prescriptions among those receiving Medicare dropped by 2.11 million daily doses per year once the laws were passed, and 3.74 million once the medical dispensaries opened (the difference likely reflects decriminalization after legalization and easier access once dispensaries open). The biggest reductions were in prescriptions for morphine (-21%), hydrocodone (-17%), and fentanyl (-10%).

These findings add further support to the benefits of medicinal cannabis in combating the opioid epidemic. It’s already been noted that there are fewer opioid overdose deaths in states with legal medicinal cannabis. Cannabis’ ability to reduce the need for opioids comes from its ability to enhance the effects of low dose opioid medication, or even substitute for the opioid medication, itself. Some patients merely chose cannabis over opioids because it has fewer side effects.

Cannabis’ opioid-reducing effects have been noted at the population level and in small clinical trials. However, there’s also mechanistic evidence to support the interaction between cannabis and opioids at the level of individual receptors in the brain and body. I discuss this interaction in a recent 2-part series on Cannabis and Pain published with Leafly. You can link to the articles here.

Part II discusses how cannabis enhances the effects of opioids

Part I is an overview of how cannabis can help treat different types of pain

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