Pubdate: Tue, 26 Aug 2014
Source: Albuquerque Journal (NM)
Copyright: 2014 Albuquerque Journal
Contact:  http://www.abqjournal.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/10
Note: The Washington Post
Page: A3

STATES WHERE POT IS LEGAL REPORT FEWER RX OD DEATHS

States that allow medical marijuana have 25 percent fewer 
prescription drug overdose deaths, a team of researchers reports in a 
newly released academic paper, suggesting that expanded access to 
marijuana, often used for its purported pain-alleviating qualities, 
could have unintended benefits.

As awareness of the addiction and overdose risks associated with 
painkillers such as Oxycontin and Vicodin grows, "individuals with 
chronic pain and their medical providers may be opting to treat pain 
entirely or in part with medical marijuana," Colleen Barry, an 
associate professor in the Department of Health Policy and Management 
at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, said in a 
statement. Barry was the senior author of the study, which was 
conducted by researchers from the Bloomberg School and the 
Philadelphia Veterans Affairs Medical Center.

The researchers found that states with medical marijuana laws 
consistently had lower overdose death rates throughout the years 
studied - 1999 to 2010 - and that such laws were associated with a 
24.8 percent lower annual rate of painkiller overdose deaths. Those 
states had 1,729 fewer overdose deaths in 2010 than would have been 
predicted by trends in states without such laws.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom