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    • Application – CPA Board of Directors
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    • BY-LAWS
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    • GALLERY
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  • CONFERENCE
    • 2023 Conference
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July 1, 2019  |  By Barb Martz In Marijuana

Association between medical cannabis laws and opioid overdose mortality has reversed over time

Medical cannabis has been touted as a solution to the US opioid overdose crisis since Bachhuber et al. [M. A. Bachhuber, B. Saloner, C. O. Cunningham, C. L. Barry, JAMA Intern. Med. 174, 1668–1673] found that from 1999 to 2010 states with medical cannabis laws experienced slower increases in opioid analgesic overdose mortality. That research received substantial attention in the scientific literature and popular press and served as a talking point for the cannabis industry and its advocates, despite caveats from the authors and others to exercise caution when using ecological correlations to draw causal, individual-level conclusions. In this study, we used the same methods to extend Bachhuber et al.’s analysis through 2017. Not only did findings from the original analysis not hold over the longer period, but the association between state medical cannabis laws and opioid overdose mortality reversed direction from −21% to +23% and remained positive after accounting for recreational cannabis laws. We also uncovered no evidence that either broader (recreational) or more restrictive (low-tetrahydrocannabinol) cannabis laws were associated with changes in opioid overdose mortality. We find it unlikely that medical cannabis—used by about 2.5% of the US population—has exerted large conflicting effects on opioid overdose mortality. A more plausible interpretation is that this association is spurious. Moreover, if such relationships do exist, they cannot be rigorously discerned with aggregate data. Research into therapeutic potential of cannabis should continue, but the claim that enacting medical cannabis laws will reduce opioid overdose death should be met with skepticism.  Read more…

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CPA is a member-driven, grassroots organization whose mission is to support prevention professionals in eliminating substance abuse. We are a non-profit, 501(c)3 organization. Since 1976, CPA has kept the needs and concerns of the prevention professional and the field of substance abuse prevention as its key focus, and today it continues to be the foremost voice for prevention in Pennsylvania.

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Commonwealth Prevention Alliance
2 days ago
Commonwealth Prevention Alliance

In our industry burn out is a real thing. Learning time management (and saying "No" when we need to) is vital to staying afloat and avoiding burn out. ... See MoreSee Less

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