#NORML #News
Source: @norml @WeedConnection
Posted By: norml@weedconnection.com
media :: news
- Tue, 21 Jul 2014 04:20:21 PST

Study: Medical Cannabis Access Associated With Reduced Opioid Abuse

Santa Monica, CA: States that permit qualified patients to access medical marijuana via dispensaries possess lower rates of opioid addiction and overdose deaths, according to a study published by the National Bureau of Economic Research, a non-partisan think-tank.

Researchers from the RAND Corporation and the University of California, Irvine assessed the impact of medical marijuana laws on problematic opioid use, as measured by treatment admissions for opioid pain reliever addiction and by state-level opioid overdose deaths.

"[S]tates permitting medical marijuana dispensaries experience a relative decrease in both opioid addictions and opioid overdose deaths compared to states that do not," authors reported. They found that women over the age of 40 showed the most significant decrease in problematic opioid use.

Data published in 2014 in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) Internal Medicine reported that the enactment of statewide medicinal marijuana laws is associated with significantly lower state-level opioid overdose mortality rates. "States with medical cannabis laws had a 24.8 percent lower mean annual opioid overdose mortality rate compared with states without medical cannabis laws," investigators reported.

Overdose deaths involving opioid analgesics have increased dramatically over the past decade. While fewer than 4,100 opiate-induced fatalities were reported for the year 1999, by 2010 this figure rose to over 16,600 according to an analysis by the US Centers for Disease Control.

Full text of the study: "Do Medical Marijuana Laws Reduce Addictions and Deaths Related to Pain Killers?" is available @ https://www.nber.org


Study: Changes In State Marijuana Laws Are Not Associated With Greater Use Or Acceptance By Young People

Austin, TX: The use of marijuana by younger adolescents is falling while their perceived disapproval of cannabis use is rising, according to data published this week in The American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse.

Investigators from the University of Texas at Austin evaluated trends in young people's attitudes toward cannabis and their use of the substance during the years 2002 to 2013 – a time period where 14 states enacted laws legalizing the medical use of the plant, and two states approved its recreational use by adults. (Six states also enacted laws decriminalizing marijuana possession offenses during this time.) Analyses were based on self-reported measurements from a nationally representative sample of 105,903 younger adolescents (aged 12-14); 110,949 older adolescents (aged 15-17); and 221,976 young adults (aged 18-25).

Researchers reported that the proportion of adolescents age 12 to 14 who strongly disapproved of marijuana use rose significantly during this period. The percentage of 12 to 14-year-olds reporting having used marijuana during the past year fell significantly during this same time period.

Among youth age 15 to 17, past year cannabis use also fell significantly, while young people's perception of marijuana remained largely unchanged.

"Our results may suggest that recent changes in public policy, including the decriminalization, medicalization, and legalization of marijuana in cities and states across the country, have not resulted in more use or greater approval of marijuana use among younger adolescents," the study's lead investigator said in a press release.

Young adults age 18 to 25, in contrast to their younger peers, were less likely in 2013 to disapprove of the use of cannabis. However, this change in attitude was not positively associated with significant rises in past year marijuana use by members of this age group, researchers reported.

Separate survey data reported by the University of Michigan has reported an overall decline over the past decade in the percentage of young people perceiving a "great risk" associated with the use of marijuana. However, this decline in perceived risk has not been accompanied by a parallel increase in cannabis use by young people.

Full text of the study, "Trends in the disapproval and use of marijuana among adolescents and young adults in the United States: 2002-2013," appears in The American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse.


Federal Lawmakers Introduce 'Marijuana Business Access To Banking Act'

Washington, DC: Members of the US Senate have introduced Senate Bill 1726, 'The Marijuana Businesses Access to Banking Act of 2015,' to permit financial institutions to engage in business relationships with the marijuana industry. The measure is companion legislation to the House version of the bill, HR 2076.

The Marijuana Businesses Access to Banking Act of 2015 provides "a safe harbor for depository institutions providing financial services to a marijuana-related legitimate business" and provides legal protections to both financial institutions and their employees."

The Senate version of the bill has six co-sponsors while the House bill has 26 co-sponsors.

Commenting on the legislation, NORML Deputy Director Paul Armentano said: "No industry can operate safely, transparently or effectively without access to banks or other financial institutions. Members of Congress should move forward with this legislation so that this growing number of state-compliant businesses, and their consumers, may operate in a manner that is similar to other legal commercial entities."


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