Study: Nationwide medical marijuana laws would save lives and a billion taxpayer dollars

[yuiyoshida]

A fascinating study in Health Affairs last year by a father-daughter pair of public policy researchers found that Medicare prescriptions for things like painkillers, antidepressants and anti-anxiety medications dropped sharply in states that introduced a medical marijuana program.

The implication? Offered the choice between taking medication prescribed by a doctor and self-medicating with pot, many older patients opted for the latter.

But the study left one big question unanswered: Since the study's authors — the University of Georgia's Ashley Bradford and W. David Bradford — only looked at Medicare data, they couldn't say for sure whether the findings held for younger patients too.

Now, we're getting more answers. This week, the Bradfords are back with a new study applying the same analysis to prescriptions under Medicaid, which covers low-income people of all ages. The results largely validate their previous work: Medicaid prescriptions for certain drugs fell significantly in states that adopted a medical marijuana law.

Specifically, anti-nausea drug prescriptions fell by 17 percent. Antidepressant prescriptions fell 13 percent, while prescriptions for seizure and psychosis drugs fell 12 percent.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2017/04/20/study-nationwide-medical-marijuana-laws-would-save-lives-and-a-billion-taxpayer-dollars/?utm_term=.a0d37215d09e