Table 1.
Association Between Medical Cannabis Laws and State-Level Opioid Analgesic Overdose Mortality Rates in the United States, 1999–2010
| Independent Variablea | Percentage Difference in Age-Adjusted Opioid Analgesic Overdose Mortality in States With vs Without a Law
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Primary Analysis
|
Secondary Analyses
|
||
| Estimate (95% CI)b | Estimate (95% CI)c | Estimate (95% CI)d | |
| Medical cannabis law | −24.8 (−37.5 to −9.5)e | −31.0 (−42.2 to −17.6)f | −23.1 (−37.1 to −5.9)e |
|
| |||
| Prescription drug monitoring program | 3.7 (−12.7 to 23.3) | 3.5 (−13.4 to 23.7) | 7.7 (−11.0 to 30.3) |
|
| |||
| Law requiring or allowing pharmacists to request patient identification | 5.0 (−10.4 to 23.1) | 4.1 (−11.4 to 22.5) | 2.3 (−15.4 to 23.7) |
|
| |||
| Increased state oversight of pain management clinics | −7.6 (−19.1 to 5.6) | −11.7 (−20.7 to −1.7)e | −3.9 (−21.7 to 18.0) |
|
| |||
| Annual state unemployment rateg | 4.4 (−0.3 to 9.3) | 5.2 (0.1 to 10.6)e | 2.5 (−2.3 to 7.5) |
a
All models adjusted for state and year (fixed effects).
b
R2 = 0.876.
c
All intentional (suicide) overdose deaths were excluded from the dependent variable; opioid analgesic overdose mortality is therefore deaths that are unintentional or of undetermined intent. All covariates were the same as in the primary analysis; R2 = 0.873.
d
Findings include all heroin overdose deaths, even if no opioid analgesic was involved. All covariates were the same as in the primary analysis. R2 = 0.842.
e
P ≤ .05.
f
P ≤ .001.
g
An association was calculated for a 1-percentage-point increase in the state unemployment rate.