Two new studies released this week find that medical marijuana laws are associated with lower levels of opioid prescribing for Medicare and Medicaid patients. The authors find that:

“Medical cannabis policies may be one mechanism that can encourage lower prescription opioid use and serve as a harm abatement tool in the opioid crisis.”

and:

“Medical and adult-use marijuana laws have the potential to lower opioid prescribing for Medicaid enrollees, a high-risk population for chronic pain, opioid use disorder, and opioid overdose, and marijuana liberalization may serve as a component of a comprehensive package to tackle the opioid epidemic.”

These studies add to a growing literature suggesting that marijuana legalization, not stronger prohibition, will help address the current opioid crisis.