New data suggest Marijuana is being used as medicine by Seniors

A recent study from Health Affairs on July 6th analyzed the data on all prescriptions filled by Medicare part D enrollees from 2010 to 2013. The results found that in states with legal access to Medical Marijuana, prescription drugs for which MMJ could serve as a clinical alternative, fell significantly. There was a direct correlation between access to Medical Marijuana and lower enrollee spending, Medicare savings were estimated at $165.2 million for the year 2013.

So what does that tell us? For starters, this supports the mountains of anecdotal evidence that Cannabis can be effectively used to help treat a variety of conditions for Seniors. With the exception of Glaucoma, doctors wrote less prescriptions for FDA approved drugs to treat the nine conditions tracked in the study. They included pain, depression, nausea, anxiety, psychoses, seizures and sleep disorders. "When states turned on Medical Marijuana laws, we did see a rather substantial turn away from FDA-approved medicine" said senior author W. David Bradford.

Sheigla Murphy, a medical sociologist and the director for the Center of Substance Abuse Studies in San Francisco was not involved in this study but did go on record to say, " It fits with the problems of older age, problems with sleeping, depression, arthritis and worn-out body parts that begin to hurt. Marijuana can relieve these without side effects of grogginess and worrying about addiction". For pain, the annual number of daily doses prescribed per physician dropped by more than 11%. "The results show that Marijuana might be beneficial with diverting people away from opiods" said Bradford.

A 2014 study determined, that in states with legal access to Medical Marijuana, opiod deaths fell 25% compared to states where MMJ still remained illegal. According to the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) nearly two million Americans either abused or were dependent on prescription opiods. Since 1999 more than 165,000 Americans have died from prescription opiod overdoses. "As we're trying to reduce the number of pain medications, I think Marijuana would be a welcome addition to the pharmacopeia" Murphy said. "The one thing we know is no one has ever died of it".

Today, there are no health insurance companies, including Medicare, that will cover the cost of Medical Marijuana. Mainly, this is due to the US governments classification of Marijuana as a Schedule 1 drug, a category that defines the substance as having no medicinal value. This opinion is up for review by the DEA in the next few months. We hope to see it removed from the schedule all together or to at least bring it down to a Schedule 2 drug, which will allow meaningful studies and human trials in the US. Currently, there are 25 states, as wells the District of Columbia that allow for legal access to Medical Marijuana. It was projected, that if MMJ was federally legalized, the Medicare program could save more than $468 million a year on pharmaceuticals for disabled Americans and those 65 or older.

At Seniors MMJ Network, we think this is a pretty positive case for the efficacy of Medical Marijuana. It's not the right choice or option for everyone, but for many many people, it can be a benefit. The scientific evidence and other data sets are supporting this opinion more everyday.