Robert Celt
New Member
Marijuana is said to benefit those who suffer from a host of maladies and disease.
A bill signed into law by Gov. Tom Wolf on Sunday allows its use in treating symptoms of 17 conditions including cancer, chronic pain and epilepsy.
But that doesn't even contemplate another potential, life-saving benefit of medical marijuana. Some suggest it will make a dent in the heroin and prescription drug abuse that is ravaging much of the state.
The clearest evidence comes from a 2014 study led by researchers at the Philadelphia Veterans Affairs Medical Center.
They found that states that allowed the medical use of marijuana had lower rates of drug overdose deaths. And it was no small difference.
"States with medical marijuana laws had a 24.8 percent lower average annual opioid overdose death rate compared to states without such laws," researchers found.
Medical marijuana saved the lives of 1,729 people in states where therapeutic cannabis was legal in 2010, they estimated.
And the benefits accelerated the longer the medical marijuana program was in place.
The reason why is not certain.
Researchers drew no conclusion about how medical marijuana stems the number of overdoses from heroin and other opioids.
But they speculated that its benefits for patients with chronic pain may deter them from turning to heroin and other opioids.
They suggested that question might make a good topic for further research.
"That may be contrary to what some people think, but I think there is significant evidence that could be the case," said Sen. Gene Yaw, R-Lycoming. Yaw is chairman of the Center for Rural Pennsylvania, which has held numerous hearings on the drug abuse scourge.
The question looms large for Pennsylvania. A report released last year found the state ranked ninth in the country in rate of overdose deaths.
Close to 2,500 people died from overdoses in 2014. Ted Dallas, head of the state's drug and alcohol treatment agency, has said last year's death total will be higher.
Yaw and other lawmakers have sought ways to turn back the wave of overdoses, in part by focusing on better practices for prescribing painkillers.
During hearings on the topic, the Center for Rural Pennsylvania learned that 4 in 5 heroin addicts trace their problem back to prescription opioids.
In 2012, health care providers wrote 259 million prescriptions for pain meds, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That's enough for every adult in the United States to have a bottle of pain medicine.
Yaw and Sen. John Wozniak, D-Westmont, have been looking for support from other lawmakers to require "pain management" and "prescribing practices of opioids" as topics of study for continuing education credits for those licensed to dispense drugs.
Yaw and Wozniak are also seeking support for a bill to limit the amount of pain drugs that can be prescribed by doctors in hospital emergency rooms.
"We didn't get into this overnight. We're not going to get out of it overnight" Yaw said.
Ahead of last week's votes in the Statehouse to legalize the use of medical marijuana, Rep. Margo Davidson, D-Delaware, touted the plan as an important weapon in the "real war on drugs, where we work to decrease demand through prevention, intervention and treatment."
"Medical marijuana has been proven to reduce opioid deaths, and it is effective for alleviating chronic pain," she said. "We can literally save hundreds, if not thousands, of lives with this legislation."
News Moderator: Robert Celt 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Study: Medical Marijuana Linked To Fewer Heroin, Prescription Drug Overdoses
Author: John Finnerty
Contact: The Tribune Democrat
Photo Credit: None found
Website: The Tribune Democrat
A bill signed into law by Gov. Tom Wolf on Sunday allows its use in treating symptoms of 17 conditions including cancer, chronic pain and epilepsy.
But that doesn't even contemplate another potential, life-saving benefit of medical marijuana. Some suggest it will make a dent in the heroin and prescription drug abuse that is ravaging much of the state.
The clearest evidence comes from a 2014 study led by researchers at the Philadelphia Veterans Affairs Medical Center.
They found that states that allowed the medical use of marijuana had lower rates of drug overdose deaths. And it was no small difference.
"States with medical marijuana laws had a 24.8 percent lower average annual opioid overdose death rate compared to states without such laws," researchers found.
Medical marijuana saved the lives of 1,729 people in states where therapeutic cannabis was legal in 2010, they estimated.
And the benefits accelerated the longer the medical marijuana program was in place.
The reason why is not certain.
Researchers drew no conclusion about how medical marijuana stems the number of overdoses from heroin and other opioids.
But they speculated that its benefits for patients with chronic pain may deter them from turning to heroin and other opioids.
They suggested that question might make a good topic for further research.
"That may be contrary to what some people think, but I think there is significant evidence that could be the case," said Sen. Gene Yaw, R-Lycoming. Yaw is chairman of the Center for Rural Pennsylvania, which has held numerous hearings on the drug abuse scourge.
The question looms large for Pennsylvania. A report released last year found the state ranked ninth in the country in rate of overdose deaths.
Close to 2,500 people died from overdoses in 2014. Ted Dallas, head of the state's drug and alcohol treatment agency, has said last year's death total will be higher.
Yaw and other lawmakers have sought ways to turn back the wave of overdoses, in part by focusing on better practices for prescribing painkillers.
During hearings on the topic, the Center for Rural Pennsylvania learned that 4 in 5 heroin addicts trace their problem back to prescription opioids.
In 2012, health care providers wrote 259 million prescriptions for pain meds, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That's enough for every adult in the United States to have a bottle of pain medicine.
Yaw and Sen. John Wozniak, D-Westmont, have been looking for support from other lawmakers to require "pain management" and "prescribing practices of opioids" as topics of study for continuing education credits for those licensed to dispense drugs.
Yaw and Wozniak are also seeking support for a bill to limit the amount of pain drugs that can be prescribed by doctors in hospital emergency rooms.
"We didn't get into this overnight. We're not going to get out of it overnight" Yaw said.
Ahead of last week's votes in the Statehouse to legalize the use of medical marijuana, Rep. Margo Davidson, D-Delaware, touted the plan as an important weapon in the "real war on drugs, where we work to decrease demand through prevention, intervention and treatment."
"Medical marijuana has been proven to reduce opioid deaths, and it is effective for alleviating chronic pain," she said. "We can literally save hundreds, if not thousands, of lives with this legislation."
News Moderator: Robert Celt 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Study: Medical Marijuana Linked To Fewer Heroin, Prescription Drug Overdoses
Author: John Finnerty
Contact: The Tribune Democrat
Photo Credit: None found
Website: The Tribune Democrat
