THE HILL – Access to marijuana via legalization lowers demand for expensive prescription medications through state Medicaid programs, according to a new study.
Cornell University researchers analyzed data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services in all 50 states from 2011 to 2019, finding a decline in the volume of prescriptions targeting pain, depression, anxiety, sleep, psychosis and seizures in states that have legalized recreational use.
Shyam Raman, a doctoral student in the Cornell Jeb E. Brooks School of Public Policy, conducted the research with Indiana University doctoral student Ashley Bradford.
They noted the decreasing volume of prescription medications might be influenced by a decline in patients’ primary care visits when they use marijuana to treat conditions.
Thirty-seven states and the District of Columbia currently permit the use of medical marijuana with a prescription while 18 states and the nation’s capital have enacted legislation allowing regulated non-medical use … READ MORE.
