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   From: a425couple@hotmail.com   
      
   Legalizing Marijuana May Help Alleviate Rise Of Opioid Epidemic   
   3 April 2018, 4:22 pm EDT By Jean-Pierre Chigne Tech Times   
      
   Two new studies find that legalizing marijuana may help offset the   
   amount of opioid prescriptions. Opioid deaths are ravaging through the   
   every state in the U.S. 	( )   
   New studies are shedding light on how marijuana legalization could help   
   offset the opioid epidemic. Instead of offsetting the number of deaths   
   and number of people addicted, the studies suggest that legalizing   
   marijuana could drive down the number of opioid prescriptions.   
      
   Laws on marijuana would have to be loosened so that it could have a   
   bigger influence.   
      
   Marijuana To Fight Opioids   
   Two new studies published in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine say that   
   legalizing marijuana could help alleviate the number of opioid   
   prescriptions that are being given by healthcare professionals.   
      
      
   One of the studies investigated at the links between prescriptions for   
   opioids covered by Medicare Part D and the implementation of state   
   medical marijuana laws. The second study dealt with the implementation   
   of state medical and recreational marijuana laws compared to opioid   
   prescription rates covered by Medicaid.   
      
   The first studied analyzed at how people covered Medicare were being   
   prescribed opioids nationwide. It spanned the years between 2010 and   
   2015. Researchers compared states that had medical marijuana laws with   
   those that didn't have these laws in place.   
      
   Medicare patients in states with medical marijuana had prescriptions   
   with 14 percent fewer daily doses of opioids than people in states   
   without medical marijuana. Patients in states that allowed them to grow   
   marijuana at home also showed a dip with 7 percent fewer daily doses.   
      
   During the timeframe of this study, 14 states and the District of   
   Columbia had medical marijuana laws at the beginning of the study. Nine   
   more states passed laws that allowed for medical marijuana.   
      
   The other study reviewed the opioid prescribing rates for people covered   
   by Medicaid between 2011 and 2016. Prescriptions were different compared   
   to states that had medical marijuana laws and those without them.   
      
   Those in states that allowed them to use marijuana to treat pain had a 6   
   percent lower rate of prescribing opioids for pain. This leads to around   
   39 fewer prescriptions per 1,000 people using Medicaid.   
      
   Marijuana For Pain   
   A report released in January 2017 by the National Academies of Sciences,   
   Engineering, and Medicine showed that the most common reason for people   
   to ask for medical marijuana is to treat chronic pain.   
      
   One of the conclusions in the report is that cannabis or cannabinoids   
   found in marijuana can be an effective treatment for chronic pain. This   
   is due to the natural cannabinoid receptors that are found in the body.   
      
   The problem is that pain is a subjective thing and can be different for   
   different people. This makes it difficult to be able to measure pain   
   accurately.   
      
   Meanwhile, synthetic marijuana has been causing deaths and severe   
   bleeding in Illinois.   
      
   TAGmarijuana, Opioid Epidemic, Marijuana Legalization   
      
   http://www.techtimes.com/articles/224329/20180403/legalizing-mar   
   juana-may-help-alleviate-rise-of-opioid-epidemic.htm   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)