Katelyn Baker
Well-Known Member
Trenton - The demand for prescription drugs treating pain, nausea and other debilitating symptoms of illness "significantly fell" from 2010 to 2013 among Medicare patients in states where medicinal marijuana is legal, such as New Jersey, according to a study released Wednesday.
The decline in prescription medications saved Medicare, the health insurance program for seniors citizens and some disabled people, an estimated $515 million from over the four-year period, according to an article published in the Health Affairs journal.
"The availability of medical marijuana had a significant effect on the prescribing patterns and spending in Medicare Part D," said the article by Ashley C. Bradford and W. David Bradford of the University of Georgia.
The authors described the study as the first of its kind, despite the fact that marijuana use for medicinal purposes is legal in 24 states and Washington D.C. Marijuana use and distribution remains a violation of federal law, stymying rigorous research.
"Remarkably, there is no literature that investigates the extent to which marijuana is used medically as a result of implementing medical marijuana laws at the state level," the authors wrote. "In this article we provide the first, albeit somewhat indirect, evidence on the clinical impact of medical marijuana availability by examining the impact of medical marijuana laws on the use of all FDA- approved prescription drugs paid for by the Medicare Part D program."
Pulling 87 million prescription and billing records from 2010 to 2013, the authors set out to determine whether prescribing patterns had changed in states with medical marijuana programs, and if so, what impact that had on costs.
They honed in on prescriptions used to treat nine symptoms the state laws say marijuana may alleviate: anxiety, depression glaucoma, nausea, pain, psychosis, seizures, sleep disorders and spasticity, the article said.
The number of prescriptions for the treatment of these symptoms plummeted for all but glaucoma and spasticity. There was a $104.5 million decline in drug spending in 2010; $115 million in 2011; $130.4 million in 2012 and $165.2 million in 2013, according to the article.
The study includes Medicare data from 16 states: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Vermont and Washington, as well as Washington D.C.. By 2013, these states had operational medical marijuana programs, although some programs were active earlier.
New Jersey's medicinal marijuana program began serving patients in December 2012.
No insurance program covers medicinal marijuana use. Patients pay out-of-pocket, and in New Jersey, regarded as having the most expensive cannabis prices, that amounts to an average of $489 per ounce, not including the 7 percent sales tax. Some dispensaries offer discounts for veterans and low-income patients.
The authors said they were able to link the decline in prescription-writing behavior to medical marijuana programs by looking at scripts written for conditions not thought to be beneficial, such as the flu and other infection, viruses and blood clots. The prescribing patterns stayed the same, the article said.
"Lowering the costs of Medicare and other programs is not a sufficient justification for approving marijuana for medical use, a decision that is complex and multidimensional," according to the article. "Nonetheless, these savings should be considered when changes in marijuana policy are discussed."
News Moderator: Katelyn Baker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Prescription Drug Demand Falls In States With Medical Marijuana, Study Says
Author: Susan K. Livio
Contact: New Jersey Local News
Photo Credit: John Munson
Website: New Jersey Local News
The decline in prescription medications saved Medicare, the health insurance program for seniors citizens and some disabled people, an estimated $515 million from over the four-year period, according to an article published in the Health Affairs journal.
"The availability of medical marijuana had a significant effect on the prescribing patterns and spending in Medicare Part D," said the article by Ashley C. Bradford and W. David Bradford of the University of Georgia.
The authors described the study as the first of its kind, despite the fact that marijuana use for medicinal purposes is legal in 24 states and Washington D.C. Marijuana use and distribution remains a violation of federal law, stymying rigorous research.
"Remarkably, there is no literature that investigates the extent to which marijuana is used medically as a result of implementing medical marijuana laws at the state level," the authors wrote. "In this article we provide the first, albeit somewhat indirect, evidence on the clinical impact of medical marijuana availability by examining the impact of medical marijuana laws on the use of all FDA- approved prescription drugs paid for by the Medicare Part D program."
Pulling 87 million prescription and billing records from 2010 to 2013, the authors set out to determine whether prescribing patterns had changed in states with medical marijuana programs, and if so, what impact that had on costs.
They honed in on prescriptions used to treat nine symptoms the state laws say marijuana may alleviate: anxiety, depression glaucoma, nausea, pain, psychosis, seizures, sleep disorders and spasticity, the article said.
The number of prescriptions for the treatment of these symptoms plummeted for all but glaucoma and spasticity. There was a $104.5 million decline in drug spending in 2010; $115 million in 2011; $130.4 million in 2012 and $165.2 million in 2013, according to the article.
The study includes Medicare data from 16 states: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Vermont and Washington, as well as Washington D.C.. By 2013, these states had operational medical marijuana programs, although some programs were active earlier.
New Jersey's medicinal marijuana program began serving patients in December 2012.
No insurance program covers medicinal marijuana use. Patients pay out-of-pocket, and in New Jersey, regarded as having the most expensive cannabis prices, that amounts to an average of $489 per ounce, not including the 7 percent sales tax. Some dispensaries offer discounts for veterans and low-income patients.
The authors said they were able to link the decline in prescription-writing behavior to medical marijuana programs by looking at scripts written for conditions not thought to be beneficial, such as the flu and other infection, viruses and blood clots. The prescribing patterns stayed the same, the article said.
"Lowering the costs of Medicare and other programs is not a sufficient justification for approving marijuana for medical use, a decision that is complex and multidimensional," according to the article. "Nonetheless, these savings should be considered when changes in marijuana policy are discussed."
News Moderator: Katelyn Baker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Prescription Drug Demand Falls In States With Medical Marijuana, Study Says
Author: Susan K. Livio
Contact: New Jersey Local News
Photo Credit: John Munson
Website: New Jersey Local News
