(RNN/CNN) – States with medical marijuana had 2.2 million fewer daily doses of opioids prescribed per year, according to researchers who compared opioid prescription patterns in states with and without medical cannabis laws.
Also, opioid prescriptions under Medicaid dropped by 5.88 percent in states with medical marijuana, according to the report published Monday in the JAMA Internal Medicine website.
Like opioids, marijuana has been shown to be effective in treating chronic pain and other conditions.
Prescriptions for all opioids decreased by 3.742 million daily doses per year when medical cannabis dispensaries opened.
However, researchers say that currently, opioid prescribing rates remain three times higher than in 1999.
Opioid prescribing has dramatically increased over the past 15 years, the report states.
This, researchers say, is a result of physicians being more willing to use opioid medications to treat chronic and acute pain in the community.
Too many #opioid prescriptions, for too many days, at too high a dose. Learn more @CDCInjury. #VitalSigns pic.twitter.com/GIPElBJN7J
— CDC (@CDCgov) July 28, 2017
After a Raycom Media investigation, doctors recently have been indicted for receiving kickbacks for over prescribing opioid drugs.
Because of the increase in prescription opioids, the United States experienced an increase in opioid-related death, according to the report.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says on average, 115 Americans die every day from an opioid overdose.
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