The purpose of this paper was to evaluate any relationship between the implementation of Colorado’s recreational cannabis (marijuana) law and the trends regarding opioid prescriptions. Colorado was compared with Utah and Maryland, two states without marijuana laws, for this purpose.
Examinations were done on the prescription distribution of nine opiate based pain medications and two medications for opiate use disorder, for the years of 2007 to 2017.
The authors state that there was such a significant reduction in prescription opiates following Colorado’s cannabis legalization that it should be considered as a treatment alternative for chronic pain. Additionally, they state that it may be time to re-evaluate the policy of automatically discharging pain patients for testing cannabis positive, as it may actually be helping them reduce opioid consumption.
