The Effect of Medical Cannabis Dispensaries on Opioid and Heroin Overdose Mortality

Julio Garin, R. Vincent Pohl () and Rhet Smith

MPRA Paper from University Library of Munich, Germany

Abstract: Opioid overdose is the most common cause of accidental death in the United States and no policy response has been able to contain this epidemic to date. We examine whether local access to medical cannabis can reduce opioid-related mortality. Using a unique data set of medical cannabis dispensaries combined with county-level mortality data, we estimate the effect of dispensaries operating in a county on the number of overdose deaths. We find that counties with dispensaries experience 6% to 8% fewer opioid-related deaths among non-Hispanic white men. Mortality involving heroin declines by approximately 10% following the opening of a dispensary.

Keywords: Cannabis Dispensaries; Medical Cannabis Laws; Marijuana; Opioid Overdoses; Heroin Overdoses; Opioid Epidemic (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I12 I18 K32 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018-10-20
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-hea and nep-law
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:pra:mprapa:89613

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