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Studies Suggest Pot Used As Alternative To Opioid Abuse

Drug related issues are playing a prominent role in today’s political discussion. On one hand, the public demands solutions to the opioid epidemic infiltrating communities across the country, especially in rural America. On the other hand, politicians grapple with citizens’ growing support for ending the prohibition on marijuana. The two drug questions are treated as separate policy issues, but they are linked to one another more than it might appear in news coverage. Legislation on one, is certain to affect the other.

The arguments for and against softening marijuana laws have been beaten to death by both sides of the cause. America seems to agree on the severity of the prescription drug problem and the necessity for an effective response, the difference is in the details. There has yet to be a conversation, however, about how legalized pot, which seems an inevitability, will affect opioid usage. In 2017, The American Medical Association published a study in their peer-reviewed journal, JAMA Internal Medicine, that found states who legalized marijuana for medicinal and recreational purposes saw a decrease in the number of opioid prescriptions by roughly 7 percent. Overprescribing is consistently cited as a primary contributor to opiate abuse. In addition to causing harmful physical addiction, it costs enormous sums of money when Medicare patients keep returning to the pharmacy for refills.

Correlation is not causation. But there are theories for why looser marijuana restrictions are linked to decreased opioid usage — and so it is worth considering how the policy approach to them are interdependent. Of course, it could be mere coincidence. A minority of states have legalized cannabis, and those that have, did so only a few years ago. The data simply may not be thorough.

A weed cynic might guess that those 7 percent of people got too stoned one afternoon and then fell asleep, forgetting to pick up their prescription from the pharmacy.

More likely however, is that despite some unquestionable negative effects, marijuana usage is an alternative non-opioid solution to pain. When given the choice, many workers dealing with chronic pain might choose the sleep inducing joint at the pharmacy instead of the weapons grade pain-killers. In fact, though the potential for dangerous driving or children’s access to weed has been well-documented, those two scenarios are far worth the risk if it results in fewer addictions to legal opiates.

There are no perfect solutions, and democracy is messy. The severity of the prescription drug problem warrants a more creative approach.

Derek Smith is a Frewsburg resident.

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