One striking chart shows why pharma companies are fighting legal marijuana

[workinclasszero]

One striking chart shows why pharma companies are fighting legal marijuana
By Christopher Ingraham July 13 at 10:01 AM

There's a body of research showing that painkiller abuse and overdose are lower in states with medical marijuana laws. These studies have generally assumed that when medical marijuana is available, pain patients are increasingly choosing pot over powerful and deadly prescription narcotics. But that's always been just an assumption.

They found that, in the 17 states with a medical-marijuana law in place by 2013, prescriptions for painkillers and other classes of drugs fell sharply compared with states that did not have a medical-marijuana law. The drops were quite significant: In medical-marijuana states, the average doctor prescribed 265 fewer doses of antidepressants each year, 486 fewer doses of seizure medication, 541 fewer anti-nausea doses and 562 fewer doses of anti-anxiety medication.



https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/07/13/one-striking-chart-shows-why-pharma-companies-are-fighting-legal-marijuana/?tid=hybrid_experimentrandom_1_na

[BlueStreak]

1. That makes no sense. Glaucoma is one of the uses where the medical community agrees

that pot smoking is effective.. Yet in medical MJ states, docs write MORE scripts for glaucoma? Seems like they should be writing fewer.

[GusBob]

3. For almost all glaucoma patients MMJ is not an effective treatment

They can take one drop of a prostaglandin medication that lasts all day and night. 24 hour control of eye pressure is very important in the treatment of glaucoma.

Pressure control with MMJ only lasts 4-6 hours. one would have to take it 4 or more times a day and get up at night to do so

The glaucoma associations and most eye Drs do not recommend MMJ for treatment, there are much better meds now that are safer with very few side effects. The medical community does not agree with it's usage for glaucoma treatment, I think you are mistaken there.

That having been said, it works in some cases, but not many and it's not feasable for most people with glaucoma.

There are some new drops on the horizon for the treatment of glaucoma that could be gangbusters. Roc inhibitors. Drs are saying a cure, not a treatment, is possible. This molecule could be a wonder drug in heart and brain diseases as well. Stay tuned

They are finding more and more about glaucoma, it's risk factors, and the importance of early detection and treatment. That may be the reason why an increase in glaucoma scripts.

[BlueStreak]

6. Weed 4 times a day? What's wrong with that? :)

Thanks for the informative response. That makes sense. I have been borderline glaucoma for 20 years, so it is nice to know there are good options if it progresses.

[Triana]

2. You betcha. Lives don't matter to those bastards. Only PROFIT matters. n/t

[GeoWilliam750]

4. One would think that the economic impact would be a bit larger

The average number of prescriptions written per active doctor in the US appears to be about 4,500-5,000 per year.

According to the study above, the average number of doses would go down by about 4,500 per doctor per year.

I have no idea what the average number of doses is per prescription, but my wild guess would be 50, and I have no idea about how refills are counted.

This would suggest that the average impact would be 1-2% of total prescriptions, which would have a somewhat more positive impact, with room for improvement.

[Sancho]

5. No viagra on the chart?

[Exilednight]

7. Weed has the opposite effect.

Marijuana can cause impotence in older patients since it reduces blood flow.