Ohio Study Indicates Medical Cannabis Reduces Opioid Use
Ohio Study Reveals Medical Marijuana Benefits
According to a report in Marijuana Moment, a recent study conducted in Ohio revealed that a significant majority of medical marijuana patients in the state have reported that cannabis has decreased their reliance on prescription opioid painkillers and, to a lesser extent, illicit drugs. The study, which surveyed around 3,500 individuals including state medical marijuana patients and caregivers, was administered by the Ohio Department of Commerce and distributed via social media channels. Results showed that 77.5 percent of respondents acknowledged that marijuana had reduced their dependence on prescription painkillers. In terms of illicit drugs, 26.8 percent of participants noted a decrease in their usage.
Conversely, only a small fraction of respondents disagreed with the notion that marijuana helped reduce their reliance on prescription painkillers (1.7 percent) or illicit drugs (1.9 percent). These findings bolster the concept of a substitution effect, where patients choose cannabis over opioids or other drugs for pain management, although the precise mechanisms of this effect remain inadequately understood.
In a related study published earlier this year, which examined opioid prescription rates and mortality in Oregon, researchers noted that local access to retail marijuana moderately decreased opioid prescriptions. However, the study did not observe a corresponding decline in opioid-related deaths.