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States that legalize recreational marijuana are seeing a short-term decline in opioid-related emergency room visits, a new study finds.
Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh analyzed data from emergency departments in 29 states between 2011 and 2017.
Four of the states included in the study adopted recreational marijuana legalization during this period, and the team compared their opioid-related visit rates to others.
They saw a 7.6% reduction in opioid-related emergency room visits in the six months after the law came into effect, although the numbers returned to pre-legalization levels after that time.
Legalizing recreational marijuana can help fight the opioid epidemic. Researchers found that in the six months after legalization, opioid-related hospitalizations had decreased by almost 8%
Men aged 25 to 44 were the biggest beneficiaries of recreational marijuana legalization, their opioid hospitalization rates declining by almost 12%
“This is not trivial – a drop in opioid-related emergency room visits, even if only for six months, is a welcome public health development,” said Dr. Coleman Drake, senior author of the study and assistant professor in the Pitt Public Health Department. health policy and management.
“But that being said, while the liberalization of cannabis may offer some help in curbing the opioid epidemic, it is probably not a panacea.”
Men aged 25 to 44 were the group with the largest reduction in hospital visits for opioid abuse, with 11.5% fewer visits in the six months following legalization.
Since then, many more states have legalized the drug, with 19 states containing around half of the country’s population having legalized recreational marijuana in one form or another.
The opioid epidemic has become a largely ignored but still present problem in the United States.
More than 81,000 opioid-related deaths were recorded from June 2019 to May 2020, the most ever recorded in a 12-month period.
The pandemic has only exacerbated the problem, with COVID-19 causing social isolation for some and disrupting drug treatment programs – both contributing to the record number of deaths.
Some feared that legalizing recreational marijuana would make the problem worse, as it would serve as a gateway opioid drug.
This turned out not to be the case, however.
Instead, researchers believe it is possible that some are substituting opioids with marijuana.
While marijuana cannot solve the opioid epidemic, it could be a small part of a larger solution.
Opioid abuse has become a major problem in the United States, with 81,000 people dying of overdoses from June 2019 to May 2020
“We cannot definitively conclude from the data why these laws are associated with a temporary decline in opioid-related emergency room visits, but based on our results and previous literature, we suspect that people who use opioids to relieve pain are substituted for cannabis. , at least temporarily, ”Drake said.
“Cannabis can ease the pain of people who use opioids, but cannabis is ultimately not a treatment for opioid use disorders.
“States can address the opioid epidemic by expanding access to treatment for opioid use disorders and reducing opioid use through recreational cannabis laws. These policies are not mutually exclusive; on the contrary, they are both a step in the right direction.
Abuse of opioids usually begins with the abuse of prescription pain relievers.
Many will begin their opioid addiction with drugs legally acquired through their doctor.
After exhausting their legal reserves, they will then turn to illegal means such as buying pills on the black market or drugs like heroin or fentanyl to get their dose.
Many first responders, such as law enforcement, are now carrying Narcan – a drug that can stop the effects of an overdose and save one’s life – on them to fight the growing number of opioid deaths.
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