Workplace fatalities by state and year were obtained from the Bureau of Labor Statistics for all 50 states and the District of Columbia for the years of 1992-2015. Historically, there was increasing concern that legalizing marijuana (cannabis) would make the workplace more dangerous, although little was known.
The study published in October of 2018 in the Journal of International Drug Policy, demonstrated some astounding results. There are two findings everyone should be aware of. First, legalizing medical marijuana was associated with a 19.5% reduction in workplace fatalities for workers aged 25-44. Secondly, this relationship grew stronger over time. 5 years after coming into effect, medical marijuana laws were associated with a 33.7% reduction in the expected number of workplace fatalities.
Medical marijuana laws that listed pain as a qualifying condition or allowed collective cultivation were associated with larger reductions in fatalities in that age range than those that did not.
Could this unexpected improvement in the safety of the workplace via legal marijuana be the result of a reduction of opoid utilization by these patients? Quite possibly, although the authors could not attribute causes without further study.
