A new study links state-level legalization of medical marijuana to lower opioid payouts to doctors. This data point suggests that patients may use cannabis to replace prescription drugs when they have legal access.
Researchers at Purdue University, University of Southern California, and University of Florida identified “a significant decline in opioid manufacturer direct payments to pain medicine doctors as an effect of [medical cannabis law] passage”. They also found that physicians in states with MML prescribe fewer opioids.
Researchers created a “novel penalized synth control model” to analyze transaction information involving direct payments by opioid manufacturers to doctors between 2014 and 2017. The goal was to determine whether medical cannabis legalization had any causal effect.
Study showed that opioid manufacturer payments were declining due to medical marijuana’s availability as a substitute.
The substitution effect is also comparatively greater for female doctors and in areas with higher white, less affluent and more working-age population, the researchers stated.
According to Grand View Research’s market report, the opioid industry is worth $13.9 billion worldwide in 2021. According to the study’s authors, physicians and manufacturers often form financial professional partnerships.
Researchers point out that opioid manufacturers engage in different types of interactions with doctors on a regular basis. One of the most common channels to facilitate these interactions is direct payments to physicians by opioid manufacturers.
According to the authors, financial relationships between opioid manufacturers, physicians who prescribe opioids and their patients can be complex. Direct payments could come in the form “consulting and speaker fees”, conference travel reimbursements or meal vouchers.
This latest study is the latest in a growing number of studies that show more patients prefer medical cannabis products to prescription opioids.
An earlier report this year found that legalizing adult-use cannabis at the state level was linked to “reductions of opioid demand.”
This study analyzed data from Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), which tracks prescription opioid shipments. It found a 26 percent decrease in codeine retail distribution in legal states.
A second study published by the American Medical Association (AMA), found that one in three chronic pain patients reported using cannabis as a treatment option. Most of those who used cannabis to treat their pain have also used it as a replacement for opioids.
Another AMA study showed a link between legalization of medical cannabis at the state level and significant declines in opioid prescriptions, and use by certain cancer patients.
In September, a study found that legalizing medical cannabis could help patients stop or reduce their use of opioid painkillers without affecting their quality of living.
Another study in the same month found that states legalizing marijuana cause a severe economic impact on the pharmaceutical sector. Each legalization event results in a market loss of almost $10 billion per drugmaker.
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The post Legalization of Medical Marijuana Linked to a ‘Significant Decline’ in Opioid Payments to Doctors, Study Findings was first published on Marijuana moment.
