Medical marijuana could save billions of taxpayer dollars now spent on prescription drugs, according to a study published in this month's Health Affairs journal.
The study found that Medicaid prescriptions for certain drugs fell significantly in states that allow medical marijuana, reports Christopher Ingraham of The Washington Post. Anti-nausea prescriptions fell by 17 percent, antidepressant prescriptions dropped 13 percent, and prescriptions for seizure and psychosis drugs fell 12 percent.
"Those costs don't evaporate into thin air, of course: they would simply be shifted over to seniors and low-income people who would be purchasing medical marijuana outside of their insurance programs," Ingraham notes.
"Numerous studies have found that opiate abuse and overdose rates fell in states with medical marijuana laws. The Bradfords' research describes the mechanism by which that could happen: the introduction of medical marijuana laws coincides with a drop in painkiller prescriptions," Ingraham writes.
However, the authors note that medical marijuana is not without its dangers. "It is plausible that forgoing medications with known safety, efficacy and dosing profiles in favor of marijuana could be harmful under some circumstances," they note.
The study found that Medicaid prescriptions for certain drugs fell significantly in states that allow medical marijuana, reports Christopher Ingraham of The Washington Post. Anti-nausea prescriptions fell by 17 percent, antidepressant prescriptions dropped 13 percent, and prescriptions for seizure and psychosis drugs fell 12 percent.
The study by public-policy researchers Ashley and W. David Bradford, a daughter-father duo, matches the findings of the pair's 2016 study examining Medicare prescription data. The 2016 study found that Medicare prescriptions for painkillers, antidepressants and anti-anxiety medications decreased significantly in states with medical marijuana.
Taken together, the studies suggest that many patients, given the option, would rather medicate with marijuana than with prescription drugs. That's good news for taxpayers picking up the tab for expensive brand-name prescriptions. The authors estimate that fewer prescriptions, replaced by medical marijuana, would save taxpayers about $1.1 billion on Medicaid annually. That's on top of the half a billion in Medicare savings the authors estimated in the 2016 study.
"Those costs don't evaporate into thin air, of course: they would simply be shifted over to seniors and low-income people who would be purchasing medical marijuana outside of their insurance programs," Ingraham notes.
The study also found that prescriptions for opiate painkillers fell by 11 percent in states with medical marijuana programs. Opioids are responsible for much of the recent drug overdose epidemic.
However, the authors note that medical marijuana is not without its dangers. "It is plausible that forgoing medications with known safety, efficacy and dosing profiles in favor of marijuana could be harmful under some circumstances," they note.
from Kentucky Health News http://ift.tt/2oSEIrF
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