How medical marijuana could literally save lives
Published on 7/13/15
Opponents of marijuana have been jumping onto a recent study discussing the lack of evidence that the drug helps certain conditions it is often prescribed for (glaucoma, anxiety, or Parkinson's disease). The article doesn't say the drug doesn't help, just that there is lack of evidence as there often is with the lack of proper research. A positive note from the study found that marijuana IS effective against chronic pain. Painkillers are considered an epidemic by some, being highly addictive, and killing more than 16,000 people in 2013 alone. The availability of medical marijuana has been shown to significantly decrease the abuse of prescription pain killers and opiate overdose.
They found that the presence of marijuana dispensaries was associated with a 15 to 35 percent decrease in substance abuse admissions. Opiate overdose deaths decreased by a similar amount. "Our findings suggest that providing broader access to medical marijuana may have the potential benefit of reducing abuse of highly addictive painkillers," the researchers conclude.