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posted by CoolHand on Thursday July 07 2016, @07:44PM   Printer-friendly
from the enraging-drug-comapnies-everywhere dept.

Researchers have found that states with legalized medical cannabis saw declines in Medicare prescriptions for drugs such as opioids and antidepressants:

Research published [DOI: 10.1377/hlthaff.2015.1661] Wednesday found that states that legalized medical marijuana — which is sometimes recommended for symptoms like chronic pain, anxiety or depression — saw declines in the number of Medicare prescriptions for drugs used to treat those conditions and a dip in spending by Medicare Part D, which covers the cost on prescription medications.

Because the prescriptions for drugs like opioid painkillers and antidepressants — and associated Medicare spending on those drugs — fell in states where marijuana could feasibly be used as a replacement, the researchers said it appears likely legalization led to a drop in prescriptions. That point, they said, is strengthened because prescriptions didn't drop for medicines such as blood-thinners, for which marijuana isn't an alternative.

The study, which appears in Health Affairs, examined data from Medicare Part D from 2010 to 2013. It is the first study to examine whether legalization of marijuana changes doctors' clinical practice and whether it could curb public health costs.

The findings add context to the debate as more lawmakers express interest in medical marijuana. This year, Ohio and Pennsylvania passed laws allowing the drug for therapeutic purposes, making it legal in 25 states, plus Washington, D.C. The approach could also come to a vote in Florida and Missouri this November. A federal agency is considering reclassifying medical marijuana under national drug policy to make it more readily available.

Medical marijuana saved Medicare about $165 million in 2013, the researchers concluded. They estimated that, if medical marijuana were available nationwide, Medicare Part D spending would have declined in the same year by about $470 million. That's about half a percent of the program's total expenditures.

Less prescription opioids? It seems a few pharmaceutical companies have a reason to fear legal cannabis (as long as they aren't in the business of selling it).


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  • (Score: 2) by butthurt on Thursday July 07 2016, @09:00PM

    by butthurt (6141) on Thursday July 07 2016, @09:00PM (#371437) Journal

    Thanks to fretting about the potential for addiction, we've come up with substitutes like paracetamol/acetaminophen for pain and phenylephrine for coughing, which have been found to work no better than placebo. Also there's paracetamol mixed with an opiate, so that addicts will get liver damage.

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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 07 2016, @09:41PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 07 2016, @09:41PM (#371460)

    phenylephrine for coughing

    Phenylephrine is a barely working decongestant. I pretty sure you meant dextromethorphan... But DXM really works, just not at the recommended dosage. I make my own cough medicine : a gelcap filled with a glycerine solution of 66mg DXM HBr and 200 mg guaifenesin HCL, they give a little buzz but they really work.

    • (Score: 2) by butthurt on Thursday July 07 2016, @09:51PM

      by butthurt (6141) on Thursday July 07 2016, @09:51PM (#371467) Journal

      Oh, right, phenylephrine isn't sold as cough medicine. Thank you for the correction.