By MICHAEL C. PATTERSON
A new study published in the January 2020 issue of the Journal of Health Economics, analyzed over 1.5 billion opioid prescriptions given in the United States between 2011 and 2018. The researchers confirmed that states that legalize cannabis see sizeable drops in opioid consumption.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0167629618309020?via percent3Dihub
The study was conducted by Benjamin McMichael, law professor at University of Alabama, and R. Lawrence Van Horn and W. Kip Viscuzi, law professors at Vanderbilt University. The researchers analyzed prescription data from 90 percent of all outpatient pharmacies in the United States from 2011 and 2018. This data included over 1.5 billion individual opiate prescriptions. The research found that in states with medical cannabis laws, opiate prescriptions declined 11.8 percent. In states with recreational cannabis laws (adult-use cannabis), opiate prescriptions declined 4.2 percent.
The researchers also looked at previous studies to see if their findings were similar or contrary. They found similar results demonstrating access to legal cannabis can decrease opiate use. Bradford and Bradford (2016) did a study in which they analyzed a dataset of Medicare prescriptions between 2010 and 2013. They concluded that medical cannabis laws decrease the use of prescription drugs for which cannabis can serve as a clinical substitute. Bradford and Bradford did another study in 2017 which shows that declining overall prescription drug use can save over $1 billion annually for the Medicare program through the use of legalized cannabis.
The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine concluded after a comprehensive review of the clinical literature “there is conclusive evidence that cannabis is effective for the treatment of chronic pain in adults.” As of 2018, there were 72,000 deaths in the United States attributed to opiate overdose. However, there have been ZERO reported deaths attributed to cannabis consumption in human history. As we evolve into more states legalizing medical and recreational cannabis we are discovering, in certain cases, cannabis can be used as an extremely safe alternative to opiates.
We are moving into an era of cannabis use that is based on facts, and less on ideology and rumor. As health care professionals continue to see more positive data on the use of cannabis to treat multiple ailments, we will continue to see an increase of use of cannabis across the health care sector.
For 2020 and beyond, the healthcare industry must adapt to more change than ever. Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) will become more powerful within the healthcare system, which will lead to even more emphasis on efficiencies and cost savings. Also, patients will have more choice than ever regarding health care services.
It is projected by the end of 2020, Florida will have over 600,000 medical marijuana patients, and a Constitutional Amendment to legalize recreational marijuana is expected on the 2020 Florida voting ballot. Cannabis in the healthcare system is not a fad, it is here to stay.
As a healthcare business owner/operator, start investigating ways that medical marijuana can benefit your patients, your business, and your bottom line. Reach out for advice and consultation from experts in the space. If nothing else, find ways to be a resource of trusted information on cannabis for your patients. Because we all know the only thing consistent in healthcare is change. As John F. Kennedy once said, “Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future.”
Michael C. Patterson, founder and CEO of U.S. Cannabis Pharmaceutical Research & Development of Melbourne, is a consultant for the development of the medical marijuana industry nationwide and in Florida. He serves as a consultant to Gerson Lehrman Group, New York and helps educate GLG partners on specific investment strategies and public policy regarding Medical Marijuana in the U.S. and Internationally. He can be reached at mpatterson@uscprd.com
