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Nature Boy
Stranger than most



Registered: 07/09/07
Posts: 8,241
Loc: Samsara
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Medical marijuana laws lower narcotic prescription rates and costs 1
#23445977 - 07/16/16 05:12 AM (7 years, 6 months ago) |
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http://www.msn.com/en-us/money/healthcare/one-striking-chart-shows-why-pharma-companies-are-fighting-legal-marijuana/ar-BBuih5R?li=BBnbfcL
There's a body of research showing that painkiller abuse and overdose are lower in states with medical marijuana laws. These studies have generally assumed that when medical marijuana is available, pain patients are increasingly choosing pot over powerful and deadly prescription narcotics. But that's always been just an assumption.
Now a new study, released in the journal Health Affairs, validates these findings by providing clear evidence of a missing link in the causal chain running from medical marijuana to falling overdoses. Ashley and W. David Bradford, a daughter-father pair of researchers at the University of Georgia, scoured the database of all prescription drugs paid for under Medicare Part D from 2010 to 2013.
They found that, in the 17 states with a medical-marijuana law in place by 2013, prescriptions for painkillers and other classes of drugs fell sharply compared with states that did not have a medical-marijuana law. The drops were quite significant: In medical-marijuana states, the average doctor prescribed 265 fewer doses of antidepressants each year, 486 fewer doses of seizure medication, 541 fewer anti-nausea doses and 562 fewer doses of anti-anxiety medication.
But most strikingly, the typical physician in a medical-marijuana state prescribed 1,826 fewer doses of painkillers in a given year.
These conditions are among those for which medical marijuana is most often approved under state laws. So as a sanity check, the Bradfords ran a similar analysis on drug categories that pot typically is not recommended for — blood thinners, anti-viral drugs and antibiotics. And on those drugs, they found no changes in prescribing patterns after the passage of marijuana laws.
"This provides strong evidence that the observed shifts in prescribing patterns were in fact due to the passage of the medical marijuana laws," they write.
In a news release, lead author Ashley Bradford wrote, "The results suggest people are really using marijuana as medicine and not just using it for recreational purposes."
The tanking numbers for painkiller prescriptions in medical marijuana states are likely to cause some concern among pharmaceutical companies. These companies have long been at the forefront of opposition to marijuana reform, funding research by anti-pot academics and funneling dollars to groups, such as the Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America, that oppose marijuana legalization.
Pharmaceutical companies have also lobbied federal agencies directly to prevent the liberalization of marijuana laws. In one case, recently uncovered by the office of Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), the Department of Health and Human Services recommended that naturally derived THC, the main psychoactive component of marijuana, be moved from Schedule 1 to Schedule 3 of the Controlled Substances Act — a less restrictive category that would acknowledge the drug's medical use and make it easier to research and prescribe. Several months after HHS submitted its recommendation, at least one drug company that manufactures a synthetic version of THC — which would presumably have to compete with any natural derivatives — wrote to the Drug Enforcement Administration to express opposition to rescheduling natural THC, citing "the abuse potential in terms of the need to grow and cultivate substantial crops of marijuana in the United States."
The DEA ultimately rejected the HHS recommendation without explanation.
In what may be the most concerning finding for the pharmaceutical industry, the Bradfords took their analysis a step further by estimating the cost savings to Medicare from the decreased prescribing. They found that about $165 million was saved in the 17 medical marijuana states in 2013. In a back-of-the-envelope calculation, the estimated annual Medicare prescription savings would be nearly half a billion dollars if all 50 states were to implement similar programs.
"That amount would have represented just under 0.5 percent of all Medicare Part D spending in 2013," they calculate.
Cost-savings alone are not a sufficient justification for implementing a medical-marijuana program. The bottom line is better health, and the Bradfords' research shows promising evidence that medical-marijuana users are finding plant-based relief for conditions that otherwise would have required a pill to treat.
"Our findings and existing clinical literature imply that patients respond to medical marijuana legislation as if there are clinical benefits to the drug, which adds to the growing body of evidence suggesting that the Schedule 1 status of marijuana is outdated," the study concludes.
One limitation of the study is that it only looks at Medicare Part D spending, which applies only to seniors. Previous studies have shown that seniors are among the most reluctant medical-marijuana users, so the net effect of medical marijuana for all prescription patients may be even greater.
The Bradfords will next look at whether similar patterns hold for Medicaid.
N.B.
-------------------- All submitted posts under this user name are works of pure fiction or outright lies. Any information, statement, or assertion contained therein should be considered pure unadulterated bullshit. Note well: Sorry, but I do not answer PM's unless you are a long-time trusted friend. If you have a question, ask it in the appropriate thread.
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rider420
Ghost in the machine


Registered: 02/11/16
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Re: Medical marijuana laws lower narcotic prescription rates and costs [Re: Nature Boy]
#23446702 - 07/16/16 12:10 PM (7 years, 6 months ago) |
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Proof that cannabis is harmful to big pharmaceuticals profits
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musiclover420
psychonaut



Registered: 11/06/12
Posts: 19,563
Loc: PNW
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Re: Medical marijuana laws lower narcotic prescription rates and costs [Re: rider420]
#23446912 - 07/16/16 01:54 PM (7 years, 6 months ago) |
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This must be why we are still seeing BS anti cannabis propaganda pop up...
-------------------- Don't worry about me, I've got all that I need. And I'm singing my song to the sky You know how it feels, With the breeze of the sun in your eyes. Not minding that time's passing by I've got all and more, My smile, just as before. Is all that I carry with me I talk to myself, I need nobody else. I'm lost and I'm mine, yes I'm free
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Nature Boy
Stranger than most



Registered: 07/09/07
Posts: 8,241
Loc: Samsara
Last seen: 2 months, 6 days
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Re: Medical marijuana laws lower narcotic prescription rates and costs [Re: musiclover420]
#23447382 - 07/16/16 05:27 PM (7 years, 6 months ago) |
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@ Rider420 and musiclover420: ^^^ Exactly!
N.B.
-------------------- All submitted posts under this user name are works of pure fiction or outright lies. Any information, statement, or assertion contained therein should be considered pure unadulterated bullshit. Note well: Sorry, but I do not answer PM's unless you are a long-time trusted friend. If you have a question, ask it in the appropriate thread.
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Themagicbus
Wanderer

Registered: 02/22/16
Posts: 26
Loc: In the Forest
Last seen: 3 years, 5 days
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Re: Medical marijuana laws lower narcotic prescription rates and costs [Re: Nature Boy]
#23447407 - 07/16/16 05:37 PM (7 years, 6 months ago) |
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I think that it's ridiculous that up until now people are realizing the benefits of marijuana. It should've happened before this pill crisis even began.
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musiclover420
psychonaut



Registered: 11/06/12
Posts: 19,563
Loc: PNW
Last seen: 2 years, 5 months
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Re: Medical marijuana laws lower narcotic prescription rates and costs [Re: Themagicbus]
#23447418 - 07/16/16 05:41 PM (7 years, 6 months ago) |
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Really shows us how easily public opinion is swayed with fear and lies. Long live the internet and free thought
-------------------- Don't worry about me, I've got all that I need. And I'm singing my song to the sky You know how it feels, With the breeze of the sun in your eyes. Not minding that time's passing by I've got all and more, My smile, just as before. Is all that I carry with me I talk to myself, I need nobody else. I'm lost and I'm mine, yes I'm free
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Themagicbus
Wanderer

Registered: 02/22/16
Posts: 26
Loc: In the Forest
Last seen: 3 years, 5 days
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Re: Medical marijuana laws lower narcotic prescription rates and costs [Re: musiclover420]
#23447442 - 07/16/16 05:57 PM (7 years, 6 months ago) |
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Quote:
musiclover420 said: Really shows us how easily public opinion is swayed with fear and lies. Long live the internet and free thought 
That is 100% true and very, very sad. People need to learn to think for themselves and not base their opinions on what someone or something tells them.
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Eywa_devotee
Goddess Worshiper


Registered: 10/04/10
Posts: 1,088
Loc: State of Confusion, Arkan...
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Re: Medical marijuana laws lower narcotic prescription rates and costs [Re: Themagicbus]
#23497526 - 08/01/16 02:35 AM (7 years, 5 months ago) |
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pot makes the painkillers work better. You need a lotless painkiller when you combine pot with it. Also helps with the nausea and constipation as well.
-------------------- "Love one another." "To Love is to know me." "Love is the Law, Love under Will." "In Compassion, all sorrows end." Regardless of the Master, the message is the same- Choose love and you shall live, Choose Fear and you shall die. Help bring peace to this Earth: Love one another, and serve others before yourself.
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durian_2008
Cornucopian Eating an Elephant


Registered: 04/02/08
Posts: 16,693
Loc: Raccoon City
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Re: Medical marijuana laws lower narcotic prescription rates and costs [Re: Eywa_devotee]
#23498759 - 08/01/16 03:39 PM (7 years, 5 months ago) |
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People seem to pay a lot(!) more money, under excessive market controls.
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