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Odds of Opioid Misuse Lower in States With Medical Cannabis Laws

Medically reviewed by Carmen Pope, BPharm. Last updated on Jan 17, 2025.

By Elana Gotkine HealthDay Reporter

THURSDAY, Jan. 16, 2025 -- For individuals reporting cannabis use, the odds of opioid misuse are reduced among individuals in states with medical cannabis legalization (MCL), according to a study published in the February issue of the International Journal of Drug Policy.

Silvia S. Martins, M.D., Ph.D., from the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health in New York City, and colleagues used data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health from 2015 to 2019 to estimate cannabis law associations with opioid misuse and use disorder.

The researchers observed no associations for MCL or recreational cannabis legalization (RCL) with changes in the odds of any opioid outcome overall. Decreased odds of past-year opioid misuse were seen among individuals in states with MCL versus those without cannabis laws, after restricting the analyses to respondents reporting past-year cannabis use (adjusted odds ratio, 0.57). There was no association seen for RCLs with changes in the odds of any opioid outcome beyond MCL adoption.

"One important issue to consider is that compared to MCLs, relatively fewer states have adopted RCLs+MCLs, and most laws have been adopted within the past decade," Martins said in a statement. "Therefore, the impact of RCLs+MCLs may become clearer as more states adopt these laws and as post-law observation time accumulates."

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Disclaimer: Statistical data in medical articles provide general trends and do not pertain to individuals. Individual factors can vary greatly. Always seek personalized medical advice for individual healthcare decisions.

© 2025 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

Posted January 2025

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