Using marijuana increases risk of developing prescription opioid use and opioid use disorder, study finds
Columbia University Medical Center Oct 03, 2017
Over the last few years, there has been growing interest in the possibility that smoking marijuana might help curb or prevent opioid use disorder. This possibility is supported by relatively low opioid-related death rates in states with medical marijuana laws. However, results from a new study by Mark Olfson, MD, MPH, and colleagues at the Department of Psychiatry at Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) and the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) challenge this hypothesis. The study followed over 34,000 US adults for three years, and found that although most adults who used marijuana did not develop an opioid use disorder, using marijuana significantly increased the risk of developing an opioid use disorder.
The analysis indicated that respondents who reported past-year marijuana use in their initial interview had 2.2 times higher odds than nonusers of meeting DSM-IV diagnostic criteria for prescription opioid use disorder by the follow-up. They also had 2.6 times greater odds of initiating prescription opioid misuse, defined as using a drug without a prescription, in higher doses, for longer periods, or for other reasons than prescribed.
A number of recent papers suggest that marijuana may reduce prescription opioid addiction and overdoses by providing an alternate or complementary pain relief option. That suggestion is partly based on comparisons of aggregate data from states that legalized marijuana for medical use vs. those that didnÂt. In contrast, the current study focuses on individual marijuana users vs. nonusers and their trajectories with regard to opioid misuse and disorders. These findings are in-line with previous research demonstrating that people who use marijuana are more likely than non-users to use other drugs and develop problems with drug use.
The new findings suggest a need to rethink the assumption that increasing marijuana use will somehow reduce nonmedical use of prescription opioids.
The article titled, ÂCannabis Use and Risk of Prescription Opioid Use Disorder in the United States, was published September 26, 2017 in the America Journal of Psychiatry.
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The analysis indicated that respondents who reported past-year marijuana use in their initial interview had 2.2 times higher odds than nonusers of meeting DSM-IV diagnostic criteria for prescription opioid use disorder by the follow-up. They also had 2.6 times greater odds of initiating prescription opioid misuse, defined as using a drug without a prescription, in higher doses, for longer periods, or for other reasons than prescribed.
A number of recent papers suggest that marijuana may reduce prescription opioid addiction and overdoses by providing an alternate or complementary pain relief option. That suggestion is partly based on comparisons of aggregate data from states that legalized marijuana for medical use vs. those that didnÂt. In contrast, the current study focuses on individual marijuana users vs. nonusers and their trajectories with regard to opioid misuse and disorders. These findings are in-line with previous research demonstrating that people who use marijuana are more likely than non-users to use other drugs and develop problems with drug use.
The new findings suggest a need to rethink the assumption that increasing marijuana use will somehow reduce nonmedical use of prescription opioids.
The article titled, ÂCannabis Use and Risk of Prescription Opioid Use Disorder in the United States, was published September 26, 2017 in the America Journal of Psychiatry.
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