Fewer Opioid-Related Deaths in Medical Marijuana States

On average, states allowing the medical use of marijuana have lower rates of deaths resulting from opioid analgesic overdoses than states without such laws.

Opioid analgesics, such as OxyContin, Percocet and Vicodin, are prescribed for moderate to severe pain. A new multi-institutional study, published in JAMA Internal Medicine and led by researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, examined the rate of deaths caused by opioid overdoses between 1999 and 2010.

The 13 states that allow the use of medical marijuana had, on average, 24.8 percent lower annual opioid overdose mortality rate after the laws were enacted than states without the laws.