The adoption of statewide laws regulating cannabis products for patients and adults is associated with significant declines in the number of non-fatal opioid-related overdoses, according to data published in the journal Preventive Medicine Reports
Researchers affiliated with the University of Kentucky Department of Health assessed the relationship between cannabis legalization laws and rates of non-fatal opioid-related overdoses in a cohort of over 107 million adults enrolled in employer-sponsored health insurance plans. Study participants were included from all 50 states. Non-fatal overdoses were defined as those receiving hospital care for “poisoning or accidental poisoning by opium, heroin, methadone, and other opiates and related narcotics, and the adverse effects of opium, heroin, methadone, and other opiates and related narcotics.”
Investigators determined that non-fatal overdoses decreased after states regulated cannabis access. Specifically, “MCD [medical cannabis dispensary openings] was associated with a 15.47 percent reduction, and RCL [recreational cannabis laws] was associated with an 11.92 percent reduction in NF-OPD [non-fatal opioid poisoning diagnoses]. The reductions related to MCD were significant among males and females, adults aged 18–44, outpatients, and those without prescription opioids or cannabis use disorder in the past year. The reductions related to RCL were significant among outpatients, and those without prescription opioids or cannabis use disorder in the past year.”
The study’s authors concluded: “These findings suggest that expanded access to cannabis through MCD and RCL is associated with lower NF-OPD among adults with employer-sponsored insurance, particularly among males and younger adults, who are disproportionately affected by the opioid epidemic.”
The findings are consistent with numerous other studies linking legal cannabis access with reductions in opioid use, prescriptions, hospitalizations, and overdose deaths.
Commenting on the findings, NORML’s Deputy Director Paul Armentano said: “These findings add to the already robust evidence documenting the opioid-sparing effects of cannabis and highlight the role legal cannabis access can play in mitigating the public health burden associated with the use of prescription and non-prescription opiates.”
The full text of the study, “The association between state cannabis legalization and non-fatal opioid poisonings among adults with employee-sponsored insurance in the United States,” is available online. Additional information is also available from NORML’s fact-sheet, ‘Relationship Between Marijuana and Opioids.’
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