After Medical Marijuana Legalized, Medicare Prescriptions Drop For Many Drugs

This is an article done by NPR on a recent report that shows in states where medical marijuana is legal, there have been drops in medicare prescriptions for many drugs because those patients are using marijuana instead.

Prescription drug prices continue to climb, putting the pinch on consumers. Some older Americans appear to be seeking an alternative to mainstream medicines that has become easier to get legally in many parts of the country. Research published Wednesday found that states that legalized medical marijuana — which is sometimes recommended for symptoms like chronic pain, anxiety or depression — saw declines in the number of Medicare prescriptions for drugs used to treat those conditions and a dip in spending by Medicare Part D, which covers the cost on prescription medications.

This means the government is saving money because it doesn't have to buy medicine for these patients and it also means that there are a lot of people who are using medical marijuana and successfully get off their other medications.

www.npr.org...

Sorry the ATS link code isn't working for some reason. So it might require some work to get there.

Big pharma discussing a counter strike as we speak.

originally posted by: xuenchen
Big pharma discussing a counter strike as we speak.

LOL, sad but true.

it would be so nice to be able to get MMJ for my anxiety.
unfortunately I don't live in a state that has anxiety on the list of ailments that is treatable by it.

a reply to: darkbake

This is the reality of the war on the miraculous cannabis plant.

Once we are given back our medicine/resource we shall see every destructive industry that as the exist today come to an end, from big pharma, big agri, big oil, right on down to the paper, plastic, and clothing industries.

Replacing toxic GMO's with Hemp would reap many benefits, such as cleaning the toxic soil as well as combating the CO2 they scream about.

This all leads to better health of all citizens and big pharma would simply have to invest in benevolent inventions as opposed to the ugly profit motive.

a reply to: darkbake

No wonder Pfizer and others oppose cannabis. They will continue to fight it, unless they can tap into this cash flow. But! People can grow their own weed, not paying money to anyone. And that is a scary thought, if you are a corporation.

a reply to: darkbake

There is a strain for every pain. I know a guy who has a broken back/neck and has been on the same dose of opiates for the past 12 years because He also uses a strain of Cannabis designed to work on pain.

And because I purposely used the description word of "designed" One must also be aware of the fact that "The Princely Purveyors of Poison" Monsanto™ is also "designing" a strain of Cannabis. I discussed this with the guy I typed about and He said

"When Monsanto™ starts in the Cannabis business then "Marihuana" will actually become 'The Devil Weed' that "They" warned Us about..."

namaste

Proud Member of LEAP- Law Enforcement Against Prohibition

My sister worked for Kaiser Permanente out in Colorado for a number of years, she just retired. She told me not to kid myself and that the pharmaceutical companies have their fingers in the marijuana market. I never really got much more out of her because our kids were around.

a reply to: darkbake

Very interesting! The original article suggests fewer prescriptions were written for anxiety, depression, nausea, pain, seizures, sleep disorders and spasticity. However, prescriptions for glaucoma increased because the patient would need to take marijuana once an hour to decrease eye pressure, and that's not realistic.

The study statistics show that daily doses of medication dropped by 1826 daily for pain and 265 daily for depression, whilst they increased by 34 for glaucoma.

Whilst I agree less opioid use for pain is a great thing in the US (considering the scary amount of Americans that are addicted to opioids and have also died as a result), I still think those patients who prefere marijuana should be carefully monitored, just to make sure there are no side effects that haven't been noticed yet, as unfortunately there is a lack of good research into the efficay of medical marijuana.

Hopefully this will prompt good studies to confirm what this older Americans are saying.

originally posted by: Squirlli
it would be so nice to be able to get MMJ for my anxiety.
unfortunately I don't live in a state that has anxiety on the list of ailments that is treatable by it.

Even though cannabis can be beneficial in a lot of situations ,in the case of anxiety MJ is more then likely to enhance it rather then lessen it.

a reply to: everyone

I have been self medicating for years. It does work. Indica dominant strains work better than sativa. It's not the THC it's the CDBs. Cannabis has also shown to help with depression as well.