A study from Cornell has found that legalising weed and using it recreationally could lower the demand for costly prescription drugs.
We always seem to be the last ones to the party in Australia when it comes to progress and legalising the recreational use of marijuana is no exception. Cornell University has just completed a study with data from 2011 – 2019, that suggests the benefits of legalising the drug.
The USA is currently divided into states where the use of weed is either legal, medicinal or illegal. These legal differences have actually allowed for comparisons to be drawn for studies such as this. The research suggests that smoking weed reduces the demand for more expensive prescription drugs through state Medicaid.
Studies show that when states legalise weed, the volume of prescription use for pain, depression, anxiety, sleep, psychosis and seizures significantly declines.
The study was led by Dr Shyam Raman who said in their article: “Recreational Cannabis Legalisations Associated with Reductions in Prescription Drug Utilisation Among Medicaid Enrollees,”
Raman’s studies were based on data from Centres for Medicare and Medicaid Services in all 50 states from 2011 to 2019. During this timeframe, more and more states across the US started to legalise recreational marijuana.
“These results have important implications. The reductions in drug utilisation that we find could lead to significant cost savings for state Medicaid programs. The results also indicate an opportunity to reduce the harm that can come with the dangerous side effects associated with some prescription drugs.”
Now, we just need Australia to catch up to these standards. Quick, somebody tell ScoMo that it’ll actually save him money.
