Professors from the University of California-Davis and Yale University have released new research surrounding the connection of cannabis to opioid deaths. There are fewer opioid related deaths where there are more cannabis dispensaries in the county. Numbers were taken from the CDC database from 2014 to 2018, which showed some significant decreases over time. The CDC is currently reporting that 70 percent of all drug related deaths in the states are from opioids.

Evidence

These professors, Professor Greta Hsu from UC Davis and Professor Balázs Kovács from Yale University, have spent the past few years pouring over research provided by the CDC on opioid related deaths. In order for a county in a state to qualify for this study, the county needed to have a dispensary open and operating by the end of 2017 to allow a year for the dispensary to function. That way data could be collected on the changes.

There were 812 counties across 23 states that were involved in this study. The averages of each county created a baseline for the statistics the professors used. They wanted to see if the findings of other research studies were accurate. Is there a correlation between the decrease in opioid deaths and an increase in cannabis access?

Findings

According to the study, counties saw a 17 percent decrease in all opioid related deaths when the number of cannabis dispensaries increased from one to two. Counties saw an additional 8.5 percent decrease in opioid related deaths when the number of increased from two to three.

It didn’t matter if the dispensary sold medical cannabis, recreational cannabis, or both. The numbers dropped the same. The numbers dropped more when only synthetic, or man made, opioids became viewed. One opioid is Fentanyl, a heavy painkiller that’s also very sedative. These kinds of drugs are dangerous, but are surprisingly common in hospitals and painkiller prescriptions. 

But by allowing cannabis dispensaries in close proximity to patients with chronic pain–the ones who are typically on painkillers like Fentanyl–the numbers decrease. Research shows that cannabis can reduce inflammation in the pain receptors to reduce pain overall in the body. 

Future

More research needs to be done. When combined with the research available and the clear decrease in individual counties across the states, it seems cannabis is a natural way to reduce pain and opioid abuse and death. But only time will tell.

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