OVERDOSE IS NOW THE LEADING CAUSE OF UNINTENTIONAL DEATH IN THE UNITED STATES.
Link: https://www.app.com/story/news/investigations/heroin-jersey-shore/2020/01/08/nj-drug-overdose-deaths-fell-2019-first-annual-dip-five-years/2847194001/
ANNUALLY, IT KILLS MORE THAN CAR ACCIDENTS.
Link: https://www.nj.com/data/2019/01/drug-deaths-in-nj-break-record-for-4th-straight-year-why-is-this-happening.html
New Jersey is fighting the opioid crisis that continues to decimate its residents – 3,163 people in NJ died of drug overdoses in 2018, and 3,021 in 2019.
Link: http://www.globalcommissionondrugs.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/2017-GCDP-Position-Paper-Opioid-Crisis-ENG.pdf
“OVER HALF A DOZEN STUDIES NOW SUGGEST THAT MEDICAL MARIJUANA CAN REDUCE OPIOID USE, BOTH AS A TREATMENT FOR PAIN AND AS A SAFER ALTERNATIVE FOR PEOPLE WITH ADDICTION.”
“ACCORDING TO ONE OF THEM, STATES WITH MEDICAL MARIJUANA ACCESS HAVE 25% LOWER OPIOID ADDICTION AND OVERDOSE RATES; ANOTHER STUDY FOUND THAT IN MEDICAL MARIJUANA STATES, EACH DOCTOR WRITES 1,800 FEWER ANNUAL OPIOID PRESCRIPTIONS.”
According to one study, states with medical marijuana access have 25% lower opioid addiction and overdose rates.
Link: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamainternalmedicine/article-abstract/2676999
MEDICARE OPIOID PRESCRIPTIONS DECREASED 2.11 MM DAILY DOSES/YR WHEN STATE INSTITUTED MEDICAL CANNABIS LAW.
PRESCRIPTIONS FOR ALL OPIOIDS DECREASED 3.742 MM DAILY DOSES/YR WHEN MEDICAL CANNABIS DISPENSARIES OPENED.
Link: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapediatrics/article-abstract/2737637
ACCORDING TO A JULY 2019 REPORT IN THE JOURNAL OF AMERICAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION: “CONSISTENT WITH THE RESULTS OF PREVIOUS RESEARCHERS, THERE WAS NO EVIDENCE THAT THE LEGALIZATION OF MEDICAL MARIJUANA ENCOURAGES MARIJUANA USE AMONG YOUTH. MOREOVER . . . MARIJUANA USE AMONG YOUTH MAY ACTUALLY DECLINE AFTER LEGALIZATION FOR RECREATIONAL PURPOSES, CONSISTENT WITH . . . THE ARGUMENT THAT IT IS MORE DIFFICULT FOR TEENAGERS TO OBTAIN MARIJUANA AS DRUG DEALERS ARE REPLACED BY LICENSED DISPENSARIES THAT REQUIRE PROOF OF AGE.”
PUBLISHED IN A OCTOBER 2019 REPORT BY THE CDC: SEATTLE & KING COUNTIES IN WASHINGTON STATE:
“ASSESSED TRENDS AND CHARACTERISTICS OF PAST 30–DAY MARIJUANA USE AMONG PUBLIC SCHOOL STUDENTS IN GRADES 6, 8, 10, AND 12” AND FOUND THAT: “FOLLOWING 2012 LEGALIZATION OF RETAIL MARIJUANA SALE TO ADULTS IN WASHINGTON, PAST 30–DAY MARIJUANA USE DECREASED OR REMAINED STABLE THROUGH 2016 AMONG KING COUNTY STUDENTS IN GRADES 6, 8, 10, AND 12.”
Link: https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/68/wr/mm6839a3.htm?s_cid=mm6839a3_
