Study: Fewer Painkillers Prescribed When Medical Marijuana is Legal

Legalizing marijuana for medical use may lead to a reduction in the number of prescriptions written for other medications, including painkillers, according to a study released this month that looks at prescribing patterns for Medicare patients. And the shift in prescribing resulted in an estimated $165 million in savings for the Medicare system in 2013, according to the study by researchers in the Department of Public Administration and Policy at the University of Georgia. The study appears in this month’s edition of the journal Health Affairs. “Our research suggests that more wi...