Category: Public Policy

Investigators from Columbia University in New York and the University of California at Davis analyzed traffic fatality data from the years 1985 to 2014.  On average, Medical Marijuana Law states had lower traffic fatality rates than states where medical marijuana was illegal.

Medical marijuana laws were associated with immediate reductions in traffic fatalities in those aged 15 to 24 and 25 to 44 years, and with additional yearly gradual reductions in those aged 25 to 44 years.  Dispensaries were also associated with traffic fatality reductions in those aged 25 to 44 years.

The reductions in traffic fatalities may be due to people substituting marijuana for alcohol.  “It is also possible that states with medical marijuana laws and lower traffic fatality rates may be related to lower levels of alcohol-impaired driving behavior in these states,” noted Silvia Martins, MD, PhD, associate professor at the Mailman School and senior author.

Read the study at – Medical Marijuana Law & Traffic Fatalities which was published in the American Journal of Public Health.  There is more at this Columbia University article.

 

Researchers at the University of Georgia studied data from Medicare Part D from 2010 to 2013 to determine whether legalization of marijuana changes doctors’ clinical practice and whether it could curb public health costs.

The study found that states which legalized medical marijuana — which is sometimes recommended for symptoms like chronic pain, anxiety or depression — saw declines in the number of Medicare prescriptions for drugs used to treat those conditions and a drop in spending by Medicare Part D, which covers the cost on prescription medications.

The study determined that medical marijuana saved Medicare about $165 million in 2013.  The study estimated that if medical marijuana were legalized nationwide, Medicare Part D spending would have declined in the same year by about $470 million.

Read more at this University of Georgia article – Research finds medical marijuana lowers prescription drug use.