Studies: Medical Marijuana Helps Ease Painkiller Addiction Crisis

Evidence is mounting that shows medical marijuana programs are able to cut down on the rates of painkiller abuse, the Daily Caller reported.

For example, researchers writing in the Journal of the American Medical Association in 2014 found that states with medical marijuana programs had an opioid overdose rate roughly 25 percent lower than the national average.

And patients offered marijuana as an alternative treatment for chronic conditions have been shifting off prescribed opioids for pain relief, according to CBS affiliate WBLZ in Maine reported.

"Canadian studies, other countries have shown pretty clearly that cannabis therapy can assist in recovery from both alcohol and opiate addiction," Dr. Barry Gordon, medical director at the Compassionate Cannabis Clinic, told the CBS affiliate.

"Cannabis on the other hand I think is safer in general than the Methadone and the Suboxone. And I think can be once again utilized as a kind of a replacement medication for patients to stop them from slipping back into the abyss of heavier opioid meds, alcohol as well."

Another study published in Drug and Alcohol Dependence in March found that in states with legal marijuana, hospital visits for complications from prescription painkillers are dropping – and are roughly 23 percent lower than states without legal marijuana access.

Emergency room visits for opioid overdoses also are on average 13 percent lower than states without medical marijuana programs, according to a Reuters report.

• Medical Marijuana Laws Protected Under Gov't Spending Bill
• Legal Medical Marijuana Raises Illegal Use