opioid epidemic, a study in the June 10 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences casts doubt on that assumption.
In that study, researchers found no association between medical marijuana laws and opioid overdose death rates.
In fact, the overdose death rate increased by about 23% between 1999 and 2017 in states that legalized medical pot, though only an association was seen, researchers emphasized.
Paul Armentano is deputy director of NORML, a group working to legalize marijuana nationwide. He called the findings in the new study “significant, though not altogether surprising.”
Other studies have found that use of medical marijuana is associated with the
