Association of US Medical Marijuana Laws With Nonmedical Prescription Opioid Use and Prescription Opioid Use Disorder.

ABSTRACT:

Importance

Between 1997 and 2017, the United States saw increases in nonmedical prescription opioid use and its consequences, as well as changes in marijuana policies. Ecological-level research hypothesized that medical marijuana legalization may reduce prescription opioid use by allowing medical marijuana as an alternative.

Objectives

To investigate the association of state-level medical marijuana law enactment with individual-level nonmedical prescription opioid use and prescription opioid use disorder among prescription opioid users and to determine whether these outcomes varied by age and racial/ethnic groups.

Design, setting, and participants

This cross-sectional study used restricted data on 627 000 individuals aged 12 years and older from the 2004 to 2014 Natio

SUBMITTER: Segura LE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6647549 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature