Heroin is more likely to kill us than guns. Yet the legalization of medical marijuana has reduced Opioid Overdoses by 25%, saving thousands of addicts and users from harmful substances like heroin.
According to the Centers for Disease Control, heroin deaths surpassed gun deaths in 2015. This is a harsh reminder of the growing public health crisis that is opioid addiction. Opioid addiction grew so quickly in the U.S., that doctors and lawmakers didn’t have time to act appropriately. Now, these groups are playing a deadly game of catch up. Yet, recent studies show there could be an unexpected answer to this growing epidemic.
Colleen Barry, a professor at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and co-director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Mental Health and Addiction Policy Research, wrote in the New York Times that overdose deaths have decreased significantly, by as much as 25%, in states that made medical marijuana legal. According to her study, after the passage of legal medical marijuana, states saw a reduction in prescription opioid overdose deaths in the first year, and that only grew in following years. There are many studies that make this same point.
According to another study, the reason for the decreased overdoses could be that doctors write fewer opioid prescriptions once marijuana is available as a pain reliever. While most people think of heroin when they think of opioids, prescription pain relievers are also opioids. The problem with opioids is that they are highly addictive, particularly if you are in constant pain and they are the only thing that helps. Eventually the body will become addicted, and once your prescription runs out and you can no longer afford to buy illegal opioids, many people switch to heroin because it is cheaper and easier to find.
3 out of every 5 opioid overdoses occurs in someone with a legitimate prescription. If doctors are able to prescribe marijuana instead of opioids, that means one less person likely to get addicted to a harmful substance.
Dr. Constance Scharff, PhD, the research director of Cliffside Malibu treatment center in Malibu, California, said for those reasons, marijuana could be life saving.
“In states where medical marijuana is legal, research shows that opioid overdose rates have decreased by 25%. With an estimated 50,000 deaths expected from opioid overdose in the US in 2016, this represents a significant lifesaving impact. Why do we see these results? Marijuana has painkilling properties,” Dr. Constance said. “When given a choice between legal marijuana and opioid painkillers, a significant number of people with pain conditions seem to choose marijuana, which is far less lethal than opioids.”
“We should encourage the legalization of medical marijuana. Individuals have a right to choose what they believe is the best medical treatment possible,” Dr. Constance said. “For pain, particularly chronic pain conditions, many prefer marijuana over opioids. Marijuana provides pain relief and though it is addictive, it does not pose the overdose threat that opioids do.”
Ariana Marisol is a contributing staff writer for REALfarmacy.com. She is an avid nature enthusiast, gardener, photographer, writer, hiker, dreamer, and lover of all things sustainable, wild, and free. Ariana strives to bring people closer to their true source, Mother Nature. She graduated The Evergreen State College with an undergraduate degree focusing on Sustainable Design and Environmental Science. Follow her adventures on Instagram.