Access to Legalized Cannabis in the U.S. Is Associated Inversely with Local Opioid-Related Mortality

Previous studies have suggested that legalization of cannabis sales in the U.S. is associated with lower opioid-related mortality. In a much more granular new study, researchers analyzed annual data from 2015 through 2018 on the number of medical and recreational cannabis dispensaries and the rates of opioid-related mortality in all 812 counties in the 23 U.S. states where cannabis sales had been legalized by the end of 2017.

After adjustment for state- and county-level legal and population characteristics, the total number of dispensaries per county was significantly negatively related with overall opioid-related mortality; on average, a doubling in the number of dispensaries was associated with a 17% reduction in overall opioid-related mor…