Huffington Post
The District of Columbia and the 17 states that had medical marijuana as an alternative to prescription drugs in 2013 saved an estimated total of $165.2 million in Medicare program and enrollee spending that year, researchers at the University of Georgia reported in the journal Health Affairs this month.
“The results suggest that if all states had implemented medical marijuana the overall savings to Medicare would have been around $468 million,” a press release on the findings stated. John Moore via Getty Images The study reviewed drug prescriptions for ailments that could be treated with medical marijuana. One such ailment, which is often treated with oxycodone pills, is pain.
1 comment:
I think this analysis needs to be taken a step further and include a comparison of med law only states vs. fully legal states. Getting on a med program can be an expensive hassle, which presents multiple barriers to accessing the benefits of cannabis. Any condition not on the short list of approved maladies for a med program excludes many ill people's access, and leaves them with the black market or stuck using what ever horrible side effect inducing drug big pharma offers for their condition as their only alternatives.
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