A yoke of studies has see that state in the US that have legalize medical and recreational marijuana have seen a drop in opioid prescriptions .

Both published in JAMA Internal Medicine , the two while of research study more than five year of data point from Medicare Part D and Medicaid .

Theformerwas investigated by researcher from the University of Georgia , Athens . It bear on senior multitude over the age of 65 between 2010 and 2015 .

In state that had legitimise medical marijuana , they found that opioid prescriptions decreased by 2.11 million day-by-day doses a year . This increase to 3.7 million when dispensaries to get marijuana open up up .

In thesecond study , by the University of Kentucky , they found that state that had legalize aesculapian marijuana saw a 5.9 percent drop in opioid prescriptions . That rose to 6.4 percent for states that had legalize recreational marihuana . Both were between 2011 and 2016 .

In an accompanyingopinion opus , it was note that the findings supported “ anecdotal evidence from patients who trace a decreased motivation for opioids to treat chronic pain after initiation of aesculapian cannabis pharmacotherapy . ”

Marijuana has long been gas as a way to fall dependence on opioids , which exact the lives of 90 people in the US every day due to overdoses . And there has beenplentyofresearchbefore that the pain alleviation afforded by medical marijuana could deoxidize the want for opioids .

Not all research agrees , however . In February this twelvemonth , astudy foundthat although there was a correlation coefficient between the increase of medical marijuana habit and the step-down of opioid deaths , there was no evidence it was the cause .

This is likewise noted in the ruling objet d’art about   prescriptions , adding these latest study are ecologic analysis . “ We do not know whether affected role actually avoided or reduce opioid use because of increased admission to ganja , ” they observe .

However , the research does seem to point in the direction of marijuana having some kind of positive benefit with regards to fall opioid prescriptions . Cannabis insurance policy has advanced much quicker than cannabis science   in the US , so it ’s probably more study will be needed to properly see the upshot legalization is having .