The Opioid Solution

Many have already suggested that cannabis can help addicts wean themselves off of opioids, and people consume it as a substitute for pain pills. Now, a new study reinforces the idea that the implementation of legal cannabis equals fewer deaths from opioids.

The new study from the American Journal of Public Health titled “Recreational Cannabis Legalization and Opioid-Related Deaths in Colorado, 2000-2015,” suggests that the decrease in opioid-related deaths since recreational legalization is no coincidence.

“Most doctors don’t know that cannabis has never killed a human being. America is the only place that prescribes opiates this way, and I see people with problems every day. I am just proud of Colorado; We have set the tone for the rest of the country.”

“After Colorado’s legalization of recreational cannabis sale and use, opioid-related deaths decreased more than six percent in the following two years,” stated authors Melvin D. Livingston, Tracey E. Barnett, Chris Delcher and Alexander C. Wagenaar in the study.

While the authors stress that their findings are preliminary, this study is important because it is one of the first to focus on the impact of recreational cannabis laws on opioid deaths. Cannabis has already been considered as a medical alternative to opioids, since there is no risk of death or overdose from managing pain with cannabis.

“People have been using cannabis to get off opioids, and I always encourage people to do that when I can,” Dr. Elliott M.D., one of the physicians prescribing medical cannabis at Cohen Medical Centers in Colorado, explained to CULTURE. “I think this study is definitely to be believed, as opiate deaths have dropped significantly since legalization.”

The study examined trends in opioid overdose both before and after legalization in the state. In order to isolate the effects of recreational cannabis, the study also looked at Nevada’s opioid deaths before and after medical cannabis legalization. From this comparison, it was clear that having recreational options helped to increase availability and to lower the amount of opioid-related fatalities. Deaths fell by 6.5 percent in Colorado since the state legalized cannabis recreationally as well as medically.

The paper notes that researchers still need to keep an eye on numbers of opioid-related death rates over the following years,  if this trend continues. They also noted that they would like to see if people in other legal states look to see if this trend appears to be consistent with overall cannabis legalization. However, the paper still stresses that based on the existing numbers, legal cannabis definitely appears to have a positive effect on opioid deaths.

“Most doctors don’t know that cannabis has never killed a human being,” continued Dr. Elliot. “America is the only place that prescribes opiates this way, and I see people with problems every day. I am just proud of Colorado; we have set the tone for the rest of the country.”

Overall, it appears the findings of this story only confirm what the cannabis industry already knows about the potential of this plant.