Is the solution to the opioid epidemic as simple as the legalization of medical cannabis? Commenting on the Bachhuber et al. analysis (1 [4]), Finney et al. (4 [5]) cautioned that an ecological fallacy may be present—individuals using medical marijuana could have elevated overdose mortality rates even though there is a state-level reduction. They contended that a prospective study of individual pain patients was necessary to assess relationships between cannabis use, use of opioid medications, and other substance use (4 [5]).
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Links
[1] https://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/doi/10.1176/appi.ajp.2017.17090958
[2] http://rethinkpot.org/tags/olfson
[3] http://rethinkpot.org/tags/opioid
[4] https://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/doi/10.1176/appi.ajp.2017.17090958#B1
[5] https://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/doi/10.1176/appi.ajp.2017.17090958#B4