Student presentation exploring “Expansion of Medical Marijuana in Ohio and its Impact on the Opioid Crisis”

After a Spring Break break, students in my Marijuana Law, Policy & Reform seminar are back to taking over my class through presentations on the research topics of their choice.  As I have mentioned, before their presentations, students are expected to provide in this space some background on their topic and links to some readings or relevant.  The first of this coming week’s presentation is title “Solving A Drug Epidemic with More Drugs: A Discussion on the Expansion of Medical Marijuana in Ohio and its Impact on the Opioid Crisis.”  Here is how the student describes the topic and provided readings:

Summary:

Ohio’s current Medical Marijuana Control Program has identified 25 qualifying conditions for the recommendation of medical marijuana.  Ohio Senate Bill 261 proposes to expand that list of qualifying conditions to include “opioid use disorder.”

Ohio declared a public health emergency in 2010 due to the rising opioid overdose deaths and currently ranks as one of the top states with a high opioid death rate.  At the root of the opioid epidemic is the proliferation of over-prescription methods to treat chronic pain with opioid pain killers.  The question emerges — if medical marijuana may be recommended to treat chronic pain and opioid use disorder, could medical marijuana provide a solution to the opioid crisis?

Other states have gone before Ohio to add “opioid use disorder” as a qualifying condition for medical marijuana. There may be hope medical marijuana can serve as a form of treatment for those struggling with opioid addiction and an alternative for managing the disease and pain.  From a policy perspective, the idea seems hopeful, but further research is needed to ensure any potential relationship between medical marijuana and the opioid crisis.

The goal is to work through some of the research available on this relationship and develop a comprehensive discussion on the potential benefits and risks of using medical marijuana in the realm of opioids.

Background Reading:

News Article: “Legal marijuana either eases opioid crisis or makes it worse. The evidence is split.“

Law Review Article: “From Opioids to Marijuana: Out of the Tunnel and into the Fog“

Study: “Medical cannabis laws and opioid analgesic overdose mortality in the United States, 1999-2010“

Study: “Association between medical cannabis laws and opioid overdose mortality has reversed over time“

Study: “Association between fatal opioid overdose and state medical cannabis laws in US national survey data, 2000-2011”