As more U.S. states legalize marijuana for medical and recreational use, new research is showing how these laws may be influencing the way people use traditional prescription medications.
A recent study published in Health Economics found that legal access to cannabis has led to a noticeable drop in prescription drug claims among certain groups of working-age adults.
The research looked at data from 2010 to 2019, focusing on health insurance claims made by people covered through small and large group insurance plans—such as those offered by employers.
The study aimed to understand whether people who gained legal access to cannabis began using it instead of some traditional medications.
The most significant change was seen in the small group insurance market, which usually includes employees of smaller businesses.
After recreational cannabis was legalized in a state, the average number of prescription drug claims per person in these plans dropped by about 6%. This translated to an annual savings of roughly $34 to $42 per enrollee.
However, the researchers did not see the same decline in the large group insurance market, which typically covers employees of larger companies.
This suggests that different types of workers may respond to cannabis legalization in different ways, possibly due to differences in income, healthcare access, or attitudes toward using cannabis for medical purposes.
Interestingly, the study found that medical cannabis laws—those that allow cannabis use only with a doctor’s recommendation—did not lead to noticeable changes in prescription drug use in either insurance market.
This may be because medical cannabis programs are often more limited in who qualifies and how cannabis can be obtained.
Dr. Rhet A. Smith, the lead author from the University of Texas at El Paso, explained that the study builds on earlier research that showed similar reductions in prescription drug use among people with public health insurance. This new study focused on people with private insurance through their jobs, showing that the trend continues in this group as well.
The results suggest that when people have legal access to recreational cannabis, some may choose to use it instead of prescription medications for certain conditions.
While more research is needed to fully understand the health and economic impacts of this shift, it’s clear that marijuana legalization is changing how some people manage their health.
If you care about medicine, please read studies that vitamin D could help lower the risk of autoimmune diseases, and drug for inflammation may stop spread of cancer.
For more health information, please see recent studies about which drug can harm your liver most, and results showing this drug can give your immune system a double boost against cancer
Source: Wiley.
