A study intended to give some clarity to the question of whether marijuana legalization reduces anxiety medication prescriptions did not yield the conclusive results I suspect researchers were hoping for. In fact, their study seems to muddy the waters. Unlike marijuana legalization reducing opioid consumption, there is no definitive link between legalization and reduced dispensing of prescription anxiety meds.
The study, Published by the JAMA Network Open, looked at marijuana legalization laws and the treatment of certain mental disorders. Researchers wanted to know if “access to cannabis, via medical or recreational legalization, [is] associated with changes in dispensing of prescription medications to treat mental health disorders.”
In a nutshell, the researchers noticed a reduction in benzodiazepine dispensing following both recreational and medical marijuana decriminalization. But they also observed an increase in dispensing other types of psychotropic drugs.
Millions of Patients
To compile their data for analysis, researchers looked at the records of more than 9.4 million insured patients representing a cross section of the U.S. population. Those records identified the prescription medications being dispensed to the patients.
Again, their research showed a measurable decrease in the number of benzodiazepine prescriptions in states with both medical cannabis and recreational marijuana. But those same states exhibited a higher number of prescriptions for other psychotropic drugs.
Researchers do not have an adequate explanation for why that might be. They also point out that their analysis does not address whether or not “changes in dispensing patterns led to measurable changes in patient outcomes.” In other words, they don’t know if people using medical cannabis to treat anxiety fare any better than their counterparts using traditional prescription meds.
We Still Don’t Know Much
After reading the research paper myself, I have reached the following conclusion: we still don’t know much about cannabis and how it might be used effectively as a medicine. We have a lot of anecdotal evidence – which is important, do not misunderstand – but not much clinical evidence to work with.
We have ignored marijuana for so long that we really don’t know what it’s capable of from a medical standpoint. The federal government’s stand against medical cannabis research certainly has not helped things. Fortunately, we may be turning the corner where research is concerned.
Washington has relaxed its tight grip on marijuana for research purposes. In addition, the DEA is seriously considering moving marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III. If they do, rescheduling could open the floodgates of marijuana research.
Carrying on With the Status Quo
Whether or not state-legal marijuana has any real impact on prescription anxiety meds, the medical cannabis industry continues on with the status quo. At the medical cannabis dispensary, Beehive Pharmacy in Salt Lake City, Utah, this means dispensing medical cannabis products to patients complaining of chronic pain, PTSD, and other qualifying conditions. That is what medical cannabis pharmacies do.
Recreational dispensaries will keep doing what they do, as well: serve the recreational market with everything from marijuana flowers to concentrated oils to vapes. Researchers will continue to research, and politicians will continue debating the merits of marijuana in modern society.
Nothing will change in the short term as a result of the anxiety med study. Yet the study is intriguing enough to prompt further investigation. Why the disparity between benzodiazepines and other psychotropic drugs? And what effect, if any, does cannabis have on anxiety?
There is plenty of room to learn more about cannabis as a medicine. Here is hoping researchers continue to look into the plant and how it might be utilized for better health and wellbeing. We owe cannabis that much.
